A/N: Updated as of 1/21/2014. So I'm so glad that I got to fix this chapter! In the original one I never meant for James to look like a violent psychopath so hopefully this revision shows him more as a frustrated kid who has the help of his brothers to get over it!

Disclaimer: The Marauders as well as a majority of the characters, and the setting, is the work of JK Rowling and her Harry Potter series. The storyline and original characters such as Cara Connors are the work of mwah. OH and this title is a play of John Green's "An Abundance of Katherines".

Y6: An Abundance of Apricots

He lay in bed wide awake with a depressing air around him. Sometimes Sirius felt it hard to breathe when he thought of Cara and what had happened to her and how she reacted at the sight of him. Why hadn't she done that with Dumbledore? Or McGonagall? Why only Sirius?

He was completely still as his throat went through a motion of choking up and releasing.

Peter turned about in his sleep as he chased three boys in his nightmare. He struggled to keep up with his friends as they turned corners in a maze…not a maze, the castle. He then was sitting at a table where he was drinking tea with the Headmaster. He was saying he thought Peter was the best stu—

The slam of the door tossed Peter out of his bed and caused Sirius to slam his head against the bed frame. They both reached for their wands pointing them at the figure tossing things about in their room.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Sirius yelled when he realized it was James.

James was breathing heavily as he tossed a book across the room and then rushed to his bed. He threw his curtains shut behind him.

"Don't give me that," Sirius hollered blasting James' curtains back open.

"Sod off, Black," James yelled annoyed.

"Black?" Sirius laughed—barked—cynically, "Oh, someone is clearly mad."

"I said sod off!" James said standing.

Sirius took a long step closer, "Are you kidding me? You just scared the piss out of me with your door slamming and you want me to sod off! Fuck you, ya twat!"

"Sirius, stop, he's really m—" Peter had started.

"You know what, Sirius, you're a shit friend!" James yelled.

"Oh, stop being a pansy!" Sirius said knowing how James would react, "Just tell me what happened already?"

James pushed Sirius away from him.

"That's right Jamesie boy. You're all big and manly now, aren't you?" Sirius cheered angrily and pushed him back.

But James knew exactly what the hell Sirius was trying to do. He wanted him to hit him, but James wouldn't fall for that. So he shoved him once more and turned before Sirius could grab at him.

"Pads just stop it!" Peter said to him and hurried over to James, "what happened?"

"She's just such an idiot sometimes!" James huffed as he lay down on his bed.

"Of course! It's about Evans," Sirius groaned and went back to bed.

"That's why you're the shit friend! At least Wormy gives a shit," James hollered viciously over to Sirius.

Peter laughed lightly, "Don't make too much of me, Prongs. I don't care that much."

"I'm surrounded by arses," James muttered.

"What did she do?" Peter smiled to him.

James shook his head, "I have honestly never known her to be so stupid!"

"Evans stupid? Impossible," Sirius piped up from his bed.

"She was doing her prefect duties without Moony and she thought it smart to go after Malfoy, Snape, and Fiddler. She somehow lost her wand and Malfoy was on top of her when I came down the corridor."

"On top of her?" Sirius said disgusted, "What do you mean?"

"It wasn't anything like that; at least I don't think it was. But his wand was at her throat!" James said getting fired up again.

"Shiiit," Sirius muttered.

Peter whistled, "Good thing you showed up."

"But what if I hadn't! What if I wasn't there? She didn't have her wand! She was bound and she didn't have her wand! They could've killed her!"

"They wouldn't have—" Sirius had begun to roll his eyes.

"The death eaters had no problem torturing Connors! She was sixteen! And now look at her! A few more days and she would've died! So yes I believe they could've killed her!"

Sirius was quiet with his jaw clenched annoyed that James would bring up Cara to him after what happened in the hospital. James rolled into his bed and Sirius closed his back and turned away. Peter stayed sitting in the floor. He looked between the two beds and then with a sigh stood and went to his own. He looked once more at them before he went to bed.

…..

"He can be such an idiot," Lily muttered to herself as she closed the door behind her.

She hadn't been quiet enough because a groggy Emmeline turned to her, "Why is Potter such an idiot?"

Lily huffed and sat by her bed, "He just is! I mean I was too, I guess, but there was no need to yell at me, was there?"

"Lily is that you?" Mary Diven whispered sleepily from the bed next to Emmeline's.

"Yes, Mary, sorry to wake you," Lily apologized.

"S'okay," she said and slowly she stood and took a seat on the floor next to Lily, "what are we talking about? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Lily promised.

"Then what happened?" Emmy asked.

"Okay, so I had prefect duties, and Remus is still in the Hospital Wing," Lily started, "so I checked the castle by myself. Everything was fine but then I had to go down to the dungeons. I'm a prefect, I HAD TO, right? I got into a bit of trouble with Malfoy, Snape, and Fiddler and then—"

"Tobias Fiddler?" Emmeline asked confused.

"Yes! Your potion partner is an arse by the way," Lily said, "Anyway, I wasn't quick enough. And I lost my wand, but I mean I was fine! Yes I was stuck under a body binding curse but it's not like they would've done anything! THIS IS HOGWARTS AND I'M A PREFECT! Am I right or am I right?"

"I don't know, Lils—" Mary had started but Lily cut her off.

"They wouldn't have!" she said stubbornly, "But James came along and yes he helped me and I'm grateful! But it really wasn't a huge deal! And then just as I was about to say thanks he like went completely psycho on me! I mean is he crazy or what?"

"Well what did he say?" Mary asked.

Lily tossed her hands up, "He called me an idiot! Me! An idiot! He said I was stupid to go down there without Remus! I mean, hello, I don't need a man to keep me safe. You know, this is why the world needs feminism!"

Mary rolled her eyes but said seriously, "Well Lily I agree with James that it wasn't your brightest moment. You shouldn't have gone down there without someone to back you up."

"Well that's great," Lily said annoyed, "my best friend doesn't even think I know how to handle myself! I'm not a baby, you know!"

Mary nodded, "I know that, Lils. But even people who can take of themselves sometimes need back up… if that makes sense."

Lily just looked away annoyed.

"Maybe you should apologize," Mary said rubbing her shoulder.

"Apologize? He yelled at me!" Lily said disgusted.

Mary nodded with a small smile, "He shouldn't have yelled, but face it: James Potter was right."

Lily gagged, "That's a disgusting thought, Mar."

"Well I'm right," Mary smiled and then turned to Emmeline, "aren't I Em?"

Emmeline gave a small smile and a quick nod.

Then Mary stood and went back to her bed. Lily annoyed went to her bed in a huff. And Emmeline closed her drapes and curled into her sheets wrapping them around her tightly. To Emmeline, it was impossible to think that Tobias would ever do something like that to Lily. He knew she was her best friend. And he had just said that he loved her… so how could he betray her like this.

….Maybe—maybe it wasn't his fault. Maybe Lily took things the wrong way…Maybe she was over reacting and over dramatizing things.

Or maybe Tobias Fiddler isn't who she hoped he was.

And that was breaking her heart... she had really liked him. She had loved him, hadn't she?

…

Remus had been laying in the same bed of the Hospital Wing for days. The boys of course came to visit him but they had classes and today James had Sirius out at a second Quidditch try outs; Pete had trailed along with them. So this morning Remus would be sitting alone in a closed off bed.

He was reading a book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, when he heard Madame Pomfrey rush in. Remus peered out his curtain and watched a group of five people come rushing in behind Pomfrey and followed by Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall.

Pomfrey glared in Remus' direction and Remus put his head back in his curtains. He was about to pick up reading when he heard them talking.

"Poppy," Dumbledore said, "I know you are a capable of handling her, but I ask you to do much more than that. She is the most valuable thing we have right now."

"Oh hush, Albus," Pomfrey shooed at him, "They should've brought her straight to me in the first place! I mean I've treated her since her first year, I think I know exactly what she needs! Leave it to that stuck up head nurse at Mungo's to think she could do better than me!"

Remus knew it was McGonagall who let out the annoying breath.

"It was what was best at the time, but now we need you," Dumbledore sucked up to the woman.

"Alright, well, she'll be fine in the back here. No one is ever permitted back here anyway except Mr. Lupin, but he can be moved up a bit—"

"No," Dumbledore said, "Let's not threaten Mr. Lupin's safety."

"If we don't move him, Professor," McGonagall lowered her voice but Remus' ears perked to listen, "then we threaten Miss Connors safety."

Cara, here?! Remus stifled a gasp. And listened.

"You all are dismissed," Dumbledore ordered and Remus heard footsteps go out the door, "Minerva, Mr. Lupin would never speak of her return to anyone."

"It's—it's not that, that I'm afraid of," she sighed, "I don't want her being in danger of his wolfish qualities."

Remus sunk in his bed.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean by that," Dumbledore said hardly, "Minerva, you are dismissed, I need a few words with Poppy."

Slowly Minerva walked out of the Wing.

"You will keep Mr. Lupin here," Dumbledore said sternly to Pomfrey, "he'll only be here when he needs to and I know he won't put her in any danger."

"Of course, Head Master."

"Remember," Dumbledore said louder, "a man is created by what he chooses to be, not what others tell him he is."

Remus smiled slightly but only for a second before he fell back into I'M-A-DEPRESSED-WEREWOLF mood. Dumbledore left and Pomfrey went to her personal room.

Remus peered out to see closed curtains around a bed three beds away. He stood to go see Cara when he heard the Hospital Wing doors open again.

"Moooooonshiiiine," a Sirius Black sang.

Remus sat back in his bed as his friends threw his curtains open.

"Mooney, my boy," James patted him on the back.

Remus wrinkled his nose at the smell coming off them, "Please, never choose me over the shower."

Pete chuckled, "I told them that you'd rather not smell them."

"Oh c'mon, Remeey, it's the fine smell of Quidditch mornings!" James laughed.

"Well, you need to invest in the smell of apricot shampoo and Old Spice deodorant," Remus said shoving the two off his bed.

"Well at least we came to visit you up here," Sirius played offended.

"I wish you hadn't, honestly," Remus said with a tinge of honesty.

"Well, mate, if all you have are harsh words, I will go eat away my pain in the Kitchens!" Sirius said strutting out dramatically but quickly coming back to join the new conversation.

"On a real note, how are you?" Pete asked.

"Oh, I'm alright, you get used to being up here alone all day," Remus smiled, "glad you came up. Of course if you'd have showered perhaps I would've been happier."

James rolled his eyes, "Alright Moony, well, I'm going to go shower and then we're heading down to the Kitchens. Do you want anything?"

"Apricots, perhaps?" Sirius smiled.

Remus rolled his eyes, "No, I'm alright. Maybe grab some dessert, or something."

"Remus, dear, if all you eat is sugar; then you are going to grow up to be a fatty," Sirius said in a high voice as if a mother had said it.

Remus laughed, "And if all you do is annoy me, then I'm going to grow up to be a permanent resident at Mungo's."

They laughed and bid him farewell as they went out the room. Remus watched after his friends letting them go.

When he couldn't hear their footsteps anymore and Pomfrey was out of sight, Remus stood and scuttled over to the closed off bed. He opened the curtains slightly and stuck his head in.

Yes, it was Cara. She looked much better; physically healthier at least. Her skin didn't cling to her bones as much and she came to a nice shade of pink. Her eyes were open as she goggled at Remus.

"Hey, Connors," Remus smiled.

But she didn't respond.

His smile fell away as he looked at her child like eyes. They were wide open and got distracted but always found his face again. The same smile was planted on her face as if she could show no other emotion. He smiled again as he closed the curtain and walked back to his bed.

He set himself down and picked up his book beginning to read again.

Imperfect understanding is often more dangerous—he started to read again when he heard a noise from the bed he just left.

He peered out his curtain again and listened closely.

It was Cara humming—he knew the song, but what was it… oh, think Remus… could it be—is that the school song?

He listened to the tune and tried to match the words to it; they fit. He smiled as he lay back in his shutting the curtains.

As Cara hummed the tune, Remus began to sing in a not so good tenor,

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, hoggy warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald,
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling,
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."

She continuously started the song over and Remus smiled trying to guess where she'd jump to; eventually he began to sing loudly so she could hear him. And they didn't stop until Pomfrey came rushing out of her room hushing Remus and setting a silencing charm around Cara so no one could hear her hum.

He was quiet the rest of the day and when the boys came back with treats, he chose not to tell them that Cara was there yet. It would be Dumbledore's move, not his.

And when the boys left, Remus sang the song to Cara wondering if she could hear him as he couldn't hear her thanks to Pomfrey. He fell asleep late that night with a smile on his face and hope in his heart.

Cara knew the song, maybe not the words, but she knew the tune. And if she knew the tune, then she can remember a lot more, can't she?

Me? Could she remember me?, was Remus' last thought that carried in to his dreams.