Sanctuary

Chapter 36

April 15th, 1972, 10:45 pm

'Remus.' Sirius bent over Remus' sleeping form and whispered into his ear. 'Reeemus. It's time to wake up.'

He pulled his head back sharply as Remus groaned and rolled over. He didn't want to touch him, that would really ruin the mood this evening.

He bent forward again to whisper in the other ear. 'Remus. Oh, Reeemuuus.'

'M'sleeping,' Remus murmured. 'G'way.'

'Nuh uh,' Sirius said. 'You promised to cheer me and James on in the competition.'

'Ugh.' There was a pause and then, 'Bugger.'

'Indeed.'

'A'ight, M'up,' Remus grumbled.

Sirius stepped back from the bed, and Remus pulled himself upright, before regarding him through drooping eyelids. 'S'not fair you makin' me go, y'know.'

'You are extremely incoherent when you're sleepy. Did you know that?' Sirius asked. 'It's adorable.'

'F'ck 'ff,' Remus said, flipping him the middle finger before moving like an inferi in the direction of the bathroom.

'See you soon, sweetie,' Sirius called after him.

James snorted. 'Why do you wind him up like that?'

Sirius shrugged. 'He gets all flustered, it's funny.'

'It'll come back and bite you in the ass one day,' James said. 'He'll flirt back and you'll be so surprised you won't know what to do.'

'Ha!' Sirius laughed. 'Bet you five galleons it never happens.'

'Bet you ten galleons it happens before graduation.'

'Done,' Sirius said, sticking out his hand for James to shake.

Remus emerged from the bathroom looking much more awake, and the Marauders headed down to the common room. Only Sirius and James had signed up for the Midnight Flying Contest. Remus hated flying and Peter had only flown once outside and a few times in the cave at low speeds. He'd enjoyed it, but he didn't want to embarrass himself by trying to compete against more experienced flyers.

James had retrieved his Nimbus 1200 from the cave for the competition, trusting that anyone taking part in an illicit contest wouldn't be the type to report him for having an illegal broom in school, and Sirius hoped he could also use it. The alternative was using one of the school brooms, and they were awful.

There were only around twenty students in the common room, apparently, the high chance of being caught put people off of this event. What a bunch of pansies. The high chance of getting caught was what made it fun.

Sirius found an empty table in the corner of the room and waved Remus into the corner seat before sitting down beside him to protect him from passing students. Remus gave him a small smile in thanks, and James and Peter sat down on Remus' other side to wait.

At eleven pm, two seventh-year students came down from the boy's staircase and called for attention.

'The Chiefs have asked us to take you all down to the contest area. If we get caught on the way there, we won't get to attend, so everyone needs to be really quiet. Understand?'

Everyone confirmed they had heard and understood, and the seventh-years led the way out of the portrait hole and down the stairs. Twenty-five students creeping through the hallways of Hogwarts in the dead of night was a sight to behold, and Sirius found it increasingly difficult not to laugh as they stalked their way closer to the Entrance Hall.