Happy New Year! :D
Did anyone see Sherlock last night, because daaaaaamn XD
I don't have too much to say this time around. I'm done with my job, so I'll have some more free time (if I can pull myself out of the Sherlock fandom after all this drama!). I really want to get to the end of the story so all I have to do is edit and post. I just need some inspiration XD
Kam, don't worry, Remus and Sirius will realize everything eventually. They need to stop being so nervous about ruining their friendship first.
Anyway, that's all for now, my dears. I'll see you next time around. Love ya!
~SXS
FOR WARNINGS AND DISCLAIMER, SEE FIRST CHAPTER AN.
The night before Valentine's Day was a busy one for the Marauders as they set up for what they planned to unleash. Several statues were adorned with Spyballs and spells to enable them movement enough to aim and shoot their darts, each of which was filled with low-grade love potion and charmed to 'inject' the potion into a target when the dart made contact. The Great Hall door was also adorned with a charm veil, an invisible curtain which would cast designated spells onto anyone who walked through it. These spells, of course, would change their victim's taste buds to only recognize food as chocolate, and their left frontal lobes to only speak in rhyme.
But while the boys were tired the next morning with their lack of sleep, they were also excited to see their hard work pay off. They eagerly headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast, ready to join the fray.
"This day is going to be perfect," James said as they walked down the moving staircase. "Moony, I can't thank you enough for coming up with such a fantastic idea." He slung an arm around Remus's shoulders.
"I get the distinct feeling that the name 'Evans' is going to come out of your mouth very soon," Remus said with an amused grin.
"Absolutely!" James rubbed his hands together. "Today is the day I'm finally going to win her over. I'll charm her with some fantastic poetry and then while she's still dazed with the raw power of my love-fueled words, I'll position her in front of one of the statues so that she'll be hit with one of the arrows. She'll fall head over heels for me, we'll kiss, and she'll be so blown away by it that she won't even need the potion anymore to be in love with me."
Remus opened his mouth, prepared to tell James all the reasons why that wouldn't work, but Sirius put up a hand. "Allow me." He moved onto the messy-haired boy's other side and put a hand on his shoulder. "You honestly believe that's how this will go?" he asked in a grave tone.
"Don't doubt the power of true love, Padfoot," James said, wagging a finger in Sirius's face. "This is just the push that Lily Evans needs to finally admit that I've always been the man of her dreams."
"More like her nightmares," Peter mumbled and all eyes were on the pudgy boy immediately, almost literally with how they were bugging out of three heads. He flushed. "W-What? I can come up with jokes, I just don't usually say them."
"You never fail to surprise me, Wormtail," Sirius said proudly, and Peter smiled shyly.
.:.~I~S~S~:.
Breakfast was a struggle. Even Remus wasn't immune to the overabundance of chocolate, and most of the students left the Great Hall with half-empty bellies and slightly queasy. On top of being thoroughly frustrated that every sentence out of their mouths was coming out in verse, of course. But it was only the beginning. Once they started traveling the halls, they realized that an even more terrible festive fate awaited them.
While the actual dart shooting was easy to miss, the effect was instantly obvious. Girls and boys who were walking casually from one place to another were suddenly chasing each other with lovesick eyes and puckered lips. No one could pay attention in class, either distracted by their temporary crushes or by watching the insanity unfold. Not that the professors could properly teach as they were also under the poetry curse.
As he'd planned, James attempted to win Lily's heart with his temporary wordsmith powers. Contrary to his plan, she didn't appreciate that he was trying to romance her with the aid of magic, calling it cheating, and promptly scurried off. To make matters even worse, a dart hit James in the backside as he watched her leave, in despair, and the first person he happened to spot was Peter.
Which was why the smallest Marauder found himself sprinting from James through the corridors, diving into an alcove as he turned a corner, and pressing himself flat against the wall. Even though his lungs were desperate to pant, he held his breath. Seconds later, running footsteps passed him by. He had no desire to be found and snogged by one of his best mates. "Where are you, Peter?/Oh, where have you gone?/I hope you don't hide/from me for too long," James sang as he trotted past, still looking for his artificial crush.
As the messy-haired boy's voice faded into the distance, Peter finally relaxed and let out a breath of relief. Now he just had to avoid James until the potion wore off. In four hours.
Maybe he could sneak back to their room and work on the map for a little.
He only waited a few minutes before peering around the corner to make sure that the coast was clear. Then he made a run for it. By this time everyone was supposed to be in class, so hopefully James had given up his search and went to Transfiguration instead.
After some careful navigation and urging of the moving staircases to move faster, Peter made it safely back to the Gryffindor common room. He'd never seen it so empty before with daylight still coming through the windows. Not even sixth or seventh years with free periods were hanging around, likely caught up in the holiday shenanigans.
He went towards the boys' stairs, planning to go into their room and lock himself in, when he heard a soft sniffle. Turning back to the seemingly empty room, he spotted the top of a blonde head that he hadn't noticed before, sitting on one of the couches by the fireplace. Ordinarily, he would have left the person to their private moment, but he took a discrete peek and found that his distraught Housemate was actually a friend.
Peter moved to stand next to the occupied chair, hands clasped together in front of him as he tried to think of the best way to start. "Mary?"
Mary jumped from where she was curled up near the arm of the sofa, her eyes flying open as she turned to look at him. "O-Oh, Peter." She wiped at her face quickly, but the tear stains remained. "I didn't hear you come in./If there was a contest for sneaking,/You'd probably win."
Peter took out his wand so that he could cast the counterspell to the rhyming curse on himself and Mary. "I was getting tired of that after the first hour." He moved to sit down next to her on the couch, and her lips twitched up slightly as she shifted her body towards him. "Are you okay?" he asked, then pursed his lips. "Never mind, that's a silly question."
Mary let out a shaky breath. "I'll be alright after today," she said, blinking to try to remove the last droplets clinging to her eyelids. "I know it's been more than a month but…It's difficult not to think about him on a day that's supposed to be all about love."
Realization dawned on Peter's face, and his heart went out to Mary. There were times that he felt like he was the most upset over her and Remus breaking up. The werewolf himself seemed completely unchanged by the split, except for the guilty looks that he sometimes gave as Mary walked by. Sirius's attitude had taken a complete turnaround, and now and then James would suggest setting Remus up with someone new. Peter really missed the Gryffindor girl's presence in their group, and felt bad that Remus was able to move on while she was still hurting.
"You don't have to stay here with me," Mary said when Peter didn't speak. "I don't think I'm the greatest company at the moment."
"No, you're not." He shook his head quickly, realizing that what he said was wrong. "I mean, you're not bad company. You're great company on a regular basis, you're just sad right now. I mean…." Peter flushed, scratching at the back of his neck awkwardly. "Why don't we go to Hogsmeade? Get your mind off of things."
Mary blinked up at him. "Hogsmeade? But it's the middle of the week."
Peter smiled a bit. "There are advantages to being friends with James and Sirius." He stood up and offered her a hand. Mary looked from it, to his face, a small smile spreading over her lips before she took it. And as they left the common room for the one-eyed witch statue, neither mentioned the fact that she didn't let go.
.:~I~S~S~:.
That evening Remus found himself trudging up the moving staircase with his arms full of collected Spyballs and any excess potion-filled darts that he could find around the castle. Apparently Sirius and James (once he'd recovered his senses) had decided that since the prank was his idea, he was responsible for cleaning up. He didn't see at all how that was fair, but seeing as he was the least likely to raise suspicion walking around the castle carrying fake eyeballs, he went along with it.
Carefully he traveled back to the Gryffindor Tower, giving the Fat Lady the password and going straight to the boys' dorms so he could get rid of these things. The faces of his Housemates showed mixed emotions. It wasn't as if they didn't know that he and his friends were behind the prank, but some people had had better luck than others taking advantage of it.
A few feet away from the door to his room, he caught a whiff of something sweet and warm on the air. It didn't take much intuition to deduce that it was coming from their dorm, but it didn't make him any less curious. He shifted the prank supplies in his arms enough so he could free a hand to open the door.
On the other side, he found the room was softly glowing with the light of scented candles, and a violin charmed to play itself creating soothing melodies. James and Sirius were sitting across from each other on the floor, cross-legged and with their backs straight. Their eyes were closed and they were breathing slowly and deeply. Remus's mother's meditation book was open between them.
James was the first to open his eyes. "Moony," he said, tone mellow. "Come, join us." He extended his hand towards him with a serene smile.
Remus was stunned for a moment, and almost dropped everything he was holding. "What is…"
"We wanted to surprise you," Sirius answered, looking up at the werewolf. "Peter was supposed to be here too, but we couldn't find him."
"From now on we're going to be serious about meditating," James continued.
Sirius raised a finger. "I've always been-"
"We were hoping the optimal environment would help speed the process at last," the other interrupted before Sirius could complete his pun. "Sit. You can read to us." The pair of them closed their eyes again and resumed their focus.
Remus dumped the Spyballs and darts onto his bed and sat on the floor so the three of them made a triangle. He picked up the book almost reverently. Though they had meditated before, they had never specifically set up the room for the task, or set aside time just to do so. It was always squeezed in here and there, and he understood that there wasn't always time. Seeing this...sometimes he forgot that he had such dedicated friends, and it always moved him.
Through slightly blurred vision, Remus looked down at the page that James had left open and started to read aloud. "Close your eyes. Inhale…Exhale…Focus on your posture. Imagine your spine is the tallest, strongest tree in the forest. Let it reach for the heavens, leaves opening towards the sun…"
Sirius listened to Remus's voice, letting his hands rest in his lap and breathing slowly. He wasn't paying attention exactly to what Remus was saying, just enjoying the timbre of his voice mixing into the gentle violin music, and the sweet vanilla scent of Peter's mother's candles. It was incredibly relaxing, and he felt all his muscles become loose.
"Clear your mind of all your troubles." Remus sounded distant now, like an echo off the insides of his head. "All your stressors exit your body with each breath out." Sirius already felt like his troubles had disappeared. There was nothing else that needed his attention in this moment. The most important thing to him, as it always had been, was getting this transformation right so that he could help Remus.
At this point it was hard to tell whether it was Remus reading off these instructions to him or if he was coming up with the steps on his own, but he could feel something like waves crashing around in his belly. He centered on these, felt them radiating outwards from his abdomen. He concentrated on pushing them further, widening the radius. If they could just reach to his head, his fingertips, his toes…
Sirius breathed in time with the motion of his inner waves. With each exhale he imagined himself blowing them further out from their epicenter. His breathing became slower, longer, as he aimed to use the force of his breath to expand the circle. He didn't hear or smell anything else now; all that existed were himself and the waves.
The closer he came to the waves covering his entire body, the more obviously choked he felt. It was as if someone had tied ropes around his neck, wrists, and ankles, blocking the chi from where it was needed most. Sirius pushed as hard as he could to snap these restraints, to bring those waves over the edge. But try as he might, he couldn't seem to make it happen. He could feel himself becoming frustrated. He was so close, why couldn't he just finish? His eyebrows twitched with effort and he could feel himself losing his concentration, the world around him rushing back into his consciousness, until his eyes flung open and he groaned. Remus jumped, startled from where he'd been dozing.
"Sirius!" James whined, opening his eyes seconds later. "I was almost there!"
"Yeah, well, so was I," Sirius grumbled. "But I feel like there's tiny dams blocking up my chi!" He flopped back onto the floor in annoyance. The candles were almost completely burned out and he felt exhausted.
With a sigh, James rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "I know. It's the same kind of feeling I had when I was in the Detention Chamber, only even stronger." He then leaned back, using his hands behind him to prop himself up, and saw the window. The sun had completely set while they were working.
Remus looked out the window as well, spotting the half-moon hanging ominously in the sky. He closed his mother's book. "You two should go to sleep. It doesn't make sense to try again right now," he murmured. He shot a quiet spell at the violin to stop it playing and then went to his trunk to dig out his pajamas. Sirius and James exchanged a look of concern.
"Moons?" the former said, pushing himself to sit up again, but Remus kept his back turned to them. "Hey, don't worry. Tomorrow's Saturday. We can get back to it bright and early in the morning," he promised.
Remus paused in his movements and composed his expression before turning to face them. "I'm not worried. I know you'll get it eventually," he said with a smile, and then headed to the bathroom. He definitely did have faith in his friends, that had never been an issue, but for some reason he couldn't shake a slight disappointment. He supposed that the more solid effort tonight had made him believe that this would be the fruition of their work. He'd gotten his hopes up. Deep down he knew that it wasn't going to be that easy, and it was stupid for him to feel like this. Maybe after a good night's sleep he'd feel better.
While he'd been changing, Peter had returned to the room, and was currently being interrogated by James and Sirius as to his whereabouts. They'd cornered him right by the door and were both eyeing him suspiciously.
"You've been gone for hours," James pointed out, raising a skeptical brow. He was curious, especially because Peter wasn't giving specifics.
"W-Well, you were chasing after me! I didn't fancy being snogged by you." The chubby Marauder was fidgeting and flushed.
Sirius jabbed a finger at him. "You knew when the potion would wear off, and you were supposed to be here for the meditation!" He was more upset than he should have been, taking the annoyance of their failure out on Peter unjustly.
"I lost track of time!" From between the two purebloods' shoulders, Peter spied Remus as he exited the bathroom and gave him a pleading look.
The werewolf moved quickly and snagged James and Sirius by their robes to pull them back. He actually managed to lift Sirius off his feet. "What's the matter with you two?" he asked, positioning himself in front of Peter.
Sirius crossed his arms over his chest and tried to glare at Peter who was hiding behind the tallest Marauder. "He should have been here, but instead he was out gallivanting or whatever and he won't say where." He knew he shouldn't be acting like this. It wasn't Peter's fault that they hadn't been successful. But he was tired and frustrated and he could tell that Remus was bothered as well, even if he tried to hide it, which only made the sting of failure worse.
"That doesn't mean you should accost him as soon as he gets in the door," Remus stated, which he shouldn't have had to. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, it's been a long day, and we were up late last night so everyone's getting tetchy. Let's just get some sleep."
Grumbling, but knowing that Remus was right, James and Sirius backed off and started getting ready for bed. Peter slumped in relief. "Thanks, Moony," he murmured. The tawny-haired boy turned to face him. "I'm really sorry I wasn't here for the meditation. I didn't think they'd make such a big deal over it." He was peeking around Remus to see if James or Sirius were listening, but they were both silently changing.
"They shouldn't have," Remus said. "They're just overtired and upset that it didn't quite work yet." So am I, he omitted, not wanting to make Peter feel worse.
Apparently that didn't matter. "Oh…Now I really feel bad," the blonde boy said. "I'm sorry, Remus. I thought they would have been able to finish tonight."
Remus sighed. "Don't apologize. It isn't your fault." He offered him a small smile. "Go to sleep. They want to try again tomorrow morning."
"Okay." Peter hesitated a moment and then reached up and patted Remus's arm before going towards his bed, cautiously watching their roommates. It was only as he passed by the werewolf that he caught something that was both familiar and yet out of place in Peter's scent. A bright citrus that was usually absent in the buttery vanilla that was Peter, but that belonged to someone else he'd spent a bit of time in close proximity with. So, that was why Peter didn't want to say where he'd been.
Remus's lips twitched up faintly. Good for them. Mary deserved someone sweet like Peter.
