Less humor in this chapter, fair warning. I suppose I should let you know that this will be a common thing. A lot of the story is intended to be humorous but there is plot-necessary seriousness that will come up every now and then. Sorry if you were looking for something solely funny! If you are, (blatant self advertising ahead) you might enjoy some of the Marauder one shots that I've written. Anyway, enjoy!
"I think breakfast might be my favorite meal of the day..." Peter supplied.
And that was the only sentence spoken throughout the entirety of the morning meal.
The Marauder mood was at an all time low. After such a heart warming night of friendship and forgiving, it really was a shame that they'd had to run into Christine on the way to the Great Hall. The blonde girl had seemed surprisingly active considering that she'd spent the night in detention. In fact, Christine looked anything but exhausted as she quite vigorously made out with Ryan Sheppard in the middle of the corridor.
His friends had been quick to lead him away from the sight, but the damage had been done. Remus's lips seemed to permanently press together as if to stem the flow of either tears or fury and he couldn't bring himself to eat a thing. James and Sirius were in identical states of outrage, glaring daggers at the Ravenclaw harlet's back across the room. Peter seemed to have cracked under the stress, shoulders hunching as if trying to make himself as small as possible. In general, it was not a pleasant sitting at all.
As they walked to their first class, History of Magic, James placed an inconspicuous hand on Remus's forearm, holding him back a few paces from their oblivious friends.
"Forget about her!"
It was no surprise that James was the first to break their collective silence.
Remus's lips finally parted, letting out a dejected sigh that had been long overdue.
"Mate, she's not worth mourning! There'll be so many others, you won't remember her name by the time we graduate." he continued.
Remus looked over at his friend, confused at his tone. If Remus knew James, and he did, he could detect urgency and... pleading? James's large hazel eyes behind black frames definitely showed it.
"Just forget it. We'll talk later." Remus muttered, gaze lingering as James looked away and caught up with Sirius and Peter. He didn't know what had James so riled up but he wasn't sure he was in any state to deal with it today.
Due to the lack of stimulating conversation, the Marauders had left breakfast slightly earlier than normal, meaning they had full pick of seating once they reached the classroom. They chose the very back, regardless of the fact that the ghost professor probably wouldn't catch them talking even in the front row. James pointedly sat next to Remus, forcing Sirius to sit at the desk across from them with Peter. Remus added this to his new mental list of James's odd behavior for the morning.
The classroom slowly filled and not long after that, Professor Binns floating through the chalkboard and began his lecture. Almost immediately, the class erupted with whispered conversation.
"What's the deal, James? You always sit with Sirius." Remus turned to his friend who had already taken to doodling in the margins of his textbook.
James looked over at his friend and then back to Remus, shrugging indifferently.
"Did you two have a fight?" Remus asked.
"Nope."
"Okay... Does he have some business with Pete?"
"Don't think so."
Remus was getting frustrated quickly.
"Prongs, for god's sake, I'm not daft. What's going on?"
James set down his quill with a heavy sigh and looked down. He was quiet for a long moment and Remus tried to gather all of his patience. Finally, James turned to face him.
"I just... I guess I wanted to talk to you." he said carefully.
Remus's brows knitted together, "Is this about Christine?"
James nodded and Remus frowned, making to turn away. Just as he'd thought, he really didn't want to deal with this today.
"No, wait!" James grabbed his arm again, turning him back, "I'm sorry, I wouldn't pry like this if it wasn't important."
"James, I really don't want to talk about it." he said firmly, "I appreciate your concern but I just want to forget it ever happened."
"Good, that's what you should do. But..."
"But what, James?" Remus snapped a little too harshly.
James sighed again, letting his forehead fall roughly onto the desk. Remus winced a little at the loud thunk it made. When James spoke, his words were at top speed and heavily muffled.
"Idunwanthik'oulone."
"Uhh... Yes?"
James lifted his head, staring at him exasperatedly.
"What? I couldn't understand you!"
James huffed and cringed as he said, "I don't want you to think you'll always be alone."
It was Remus's turn to huff. He'd suspected something like this.
"It's just... I know she was your first girlfriend and I'd hate for you to think that she'll be the last!" James said hurriedly.
Remus groaned, "Stop, James, just stop."
"No, Moony, listen! I know you were shocked when she started to show an interest. And I know you've worried that you'll never be able to settle down because of your problem. But you're clever, kind and selfless and I have no problem saying you're good looking. Any girl would be lucky to have you, occasional furriness be damned!"
"James!" Remus snapped a little too loudly.
The surrounding tables, including Sirius and Peter, turned to look at them. James dropped his chin to the desk and looked away. Sirius caught Remus's eye and jerked his head quizzically, to which Remus just shook his, rolling his eyes. Once the attention was off them, Remus turned to his partner.
"I'm not some lovesick girl, James, my world hasn't ended. So just stop."
James nodded glumly and Remus immediately felt remorse.
"But... thanks." he said softly, bumping shoulders with his dejected friend.
James's characteristic grin began to slip back into place.
"I meant what I said," he said after a content pause, "About not mourning her. Obviously she's not mourning you so don't give her the satisfaction."
Remus frowned a little, this time in contemplation.
"I know. But... If I'm honest..." he struggled to find the right phrasing, "I don't know if it's her I'm sad about, y'know?"
James shook his head, "No, not really. I thought you really liked her."
"Well... I definitely enjoyed being with her, that's for sure. But after she told me about that bloke at the party and then when I saw her this morning... I think it was more the fact that she'd scammed me that got to me, not that she was with other guys."
James raised his eyebrows and scoffed, "Wow, Moony... Watch out, soon you'll have a legion of birds you barely care about!"
Remus shot James an exasperated look, "Please, Prongs, your authority to lecture me on how to treat women was revoked long before I even met Christine."
James laughed at that, nodding his head in agreement.
"I know it sounds bad," Remus continued in a more solemn tone, "But she can't have cared much about me either if she resorted to cheating."
"I'm just joking with you, Moony, there's no shame in that. She was a pretty horrible tart by the end there, I can't blame you for going off her."
Remus smiled appreciatively, "Thanks mate, feels good to have that off my chest."
James grinned back, "Any time."
Thanks so much for all the positive feedback, guys! See you next Wednesday! 3
