Sanctuary

Chapter 50

Saturday, 7th October 1972

Remus was roused from his dreams by the now-familiar sound of Sirius' laughter right in his ear, meaning James had awoken first. Since Monday, when Professor Flitwick taught them the tickling charm, both James and Sirius had been practising by using it to wake the other if they awoke first in the morning. Apparently, they found it much more convenient than the manual tickling they used to use, since it could be applied from a distance, making it harder for the victim to retaliate. Unfortunately for Remus, Sirius wasn't gentle in his flailing, and it was impossible to escape the bed quickly enough to not be left with at least one bruise.

Remus scrambled from the bed, scowling at a giggling James, and grabbed his wand from the bedside table. 'Finite incantatum,' he said, pointing it at the squirming boy on the bed.

Sirius stopped writhing and his uncontrolled laughter calmed to a choked giggle as he wiped the moisture from his eyes. 'Thanks, Moonbeam.' He smiled at Remus before turning his attention to James, thoughts of revenge clear in his eyes.

'No retaliation allowed, Twinkles!' James called. 'It's tryouts day, and you promised.'

'I can wait,' Sirius said with a smirk. 'There's always tonight.'

'Don't you think you'd be in better form if you got a little more sleep?' Peter asked, poking his head out from behind his bed curtains. 'It's Saturday, for Merlin's sake.'

'No time for sleep. I need to practise.'

'Mate, you've been practising every night this week,' Sirius said. 'If you're not good enough by now, I don't think another hour or two is going to make a difference.'

'I need to get warmed up, at least. Don't you want to make sure you're ready, too?'

Sirius shrugged. 'It'd be fun to be on the team, but I'm not that bothered, really.'

James looked astonished at Sirius' casual attitude to the possibility of being picked for the Gryffindor quidditch team, so Remus thought it best to intervene. 'We'll all come down and help you get warmed up, though, of course.'

This seemed to cheer him up, and thirty minutes later, they were making their way into the Great Hall for breakfast, James and Sirius both decked out in quidditch gear and carrying their brooms with them.

'Fancy a trip into Hogsmead this afternoon,' James asked as they took seats at the half-empty table. 'We need to find something for the Houses to protect.'

Sirius shrugged. 'Sounds good to me.'

'I can't. I have a tonne of homework to finish,' Peter said, groaning.

Remus smiled at him. 'I really should work on the magic detector some more. You can come to the library with me, and I'll help you when you get stuck.' He looked back at James. 'You and Sirius can handle the shopping trip without us.'

'Course we can. It's just more fun when we're all together,' James said. 'The detector is important, though—'

'Potter?'

James turned his head at the sound of his name. 'Yeah?'

Davey was standing behind him, wearing an eyepatch but otherwise in one piece. 'I just got out of the Hospital Wing,' he said. 'And I wanted to thank you. I would have died if you hadn't come after me.'

James nodded. 'I'm just glad I got to you in time. How's the eye?'

'Madam Pomfrey managed to save it, but I have to wear this thing for another few weeks. Could be worse, though. Seriously, when the tree grabbed me, I thought I was dead for sure.'