fatal love

chapter 99

The morning after the full moon, Sirius slept in as long as possible with the other Marauders. They all skipped breakfast, waking up as late as they possibly could and walking into their first lesson seconds before it started.

Sirius took notes for Remus, as he always did, but he didn't feel like he absorbed any information. He was really just going through the motions, waiting for the day to be over so he could go back to bed and get a few more hours of sleep.

When the last lesson finally ended, Sirius, James and Pete all shuffled like zombies over to Gryffindor Tower and up to the dorm. When they got there, they found Remus already there, reading on his bed.

"Pomfrey's let you out already, Moony?" Pete asked.

"Yeah," Remus said, "no injuries or anything this month, thanks to you lot."

Sirius gave him a tired grin, before collapsing onto his own bed.

"Hey, James..." he heard Remus say, "Evans came to see me at lunch today."

"Oh, did she?"

"Mhm," Remus said airily. "She'd made me my own pain-relief potion, using aconite and muggle muscle relaxants. Said she invented it herself."

"Well, that was nice of her," James said casually.

"It was," Remus grinned, "she also said she had some help..."

James went quiet, but when Sirius rolled over, he saw that he was blushing.

"Potter!" Sirius exclaimed gleefully. "Have you been having study sessions with Evans?"

"It was all for Moony!" James defended. "She wanted someone who could describe exactly how he felt, and I'm the only one of us four who carried on with Potions for NEWTs."

"All for Moony," Pete snorted, "sure it was."

"Thank you, Prongs," Remus said sincerely. "But I'd be disappointed if it was really all for me. Lily was actually singing your praises today, but if you only care about me, then I guess that doesn't matter."

James hesitated, but then his face broke, and he was beaming at full force. "Okay, okay, it's been so bloody great," he burst out. "She's so smart, and she cares so much - and she's so bloody funny, too! And she said she thought I was funny! I made her laugh, like, a lot, and just - ugh. She's so perfect, it's been the best."

"Soppy git," Sirius laughed, but he was happy. Evans and James had been dancing around each other for long enough, if they were finally making progress, then it was about time.

A week later, there was a short article near the back of the Prophet saying that an unregistered werewolf had been arrested after being caught  transformed in a forest during the full.

Sirius meant to ask Remus about it, but he got distracted when Remus came back from his Prefects' meeting in a mood. He walked into the dorm with a huff, getting an essay out of his bag and started working on it without a word.

"What's got you in a mood, Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing," Remus said shortly.

"No, you're obviously fine," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

"Fenwick asked me to give you a message ," Remus said icily. "Apparently, he's free tonight, if you are."

Sirius snorted. "I was always seeing him tonight," he told Remus. "He's only trying to piss you off."

"Hilarious."

"I'll tell him to stop," Sirius laughed, "but really, Moony, no need to be so dramatic, that's my job."