i really loved him

chapter 5

Friday, 29th November, 18:44 – After Remus left for the shrieking shack, the other three Marauders made their way to the library. Upon arrival, James took out a scrap of parchment from his robe pocket and they huddled together to read it, so as not to be seen or heard.

'Ingredients:

Single Mandrake leaf

Small crystal phial that receives pure rays of the moon

Saliva

One hair from the brewer's head

Silver teaspoon of dew (from a place untouched by sunlight)

Death's-head Hawk Moth'

"How are we going to find all of those?" Peter whispered in despair.

"That's why we're here," James replied impatiently. "Saliva and hair are easy, we can nick silver spoons from the kitchens and I'm pretty sure there are Mandrake leaves in the greenhouses. We can probably find the dew, too. There are loads of shady spots near the Forbidden Forest."

He put a little star in black ink next to the two remaining ingredients: Death's-head Hawk Moth and the phial. Crystal phials would be relatively simple to find and purchase, probably somewhere on Diagon Alley, but how to douse them in pure moonlight was much trickier.

"Pete, you take Care of Magical Creatures, right?" Sirius said.

He nodded.

"You check that section for this Hawk Moth thingy, then. James, me and you can look for anything on moony phials." He paused. "Get it? Moony phials."

In spite of himself, James clapped both hands to his mouth and began to shake with silent laughter, which in turn set Sirius wheezing. They struggled to stifle their snickers and snorts for a good couple of minutes; each time they attempted to compose themselves, the slightest hint of a smile set them off all over again. Finally, cheeks aching, James managed to take a deep breath and collect himself.

Peter was watching them, utterly perplexed.

"Are you finished? he asked pointedly.

"Nope," Sirius panted, still recovering. Peter shook his head with an exasperated smile and wandered off to the Care of Magical Creatures section.

"Right," James said with a sideways glance towards Sirius. He was afraid to make eye-contact with his friend for the risk of another outburst. "We should get started. Where first?"

"Potions, probably. Loads of recipes have really specific containers and stuff."

"Lead the way."

After just over an hour of flicking through countless unhelpful books, the group re-convened and revealed that they'd found nothing. The library was about to close, so they called it a day and trudged back to the common room feeling thoroughly disheartened.

"It's alright," James tried to reassure his friends. "We'll get there."

But even he was worried. As he lay in bed later that night, James couldn't stop thinking about Remus, alone and in pain inside the Shrieking Shack. If they could just figure out this potion...

It took a few hours of restless tossing, turning and fidgeting, but James eventually overcame the clamouring of thoughts within his head and fell fast asleep.

Regulus POV

Saturday, 30th November, 8:09 – Regulus was on edge.

He had been since the day of the quidditch match. Everywhere he went, he felt the eyes of Miller on his back. Charms lessons were the worst; the two were forced to sit together, and it became increasingly difficult to concentrate in class knowing that the other boy was waiting for an opportunity to pounce and take revenge. Regulus was determined not to give him that opportunity. As a result, he began to spend more and more time with Mulciber's gang; they weren't exactly pleasant company, but he had been correct in his assumption that being surrounded by older, more intimidating people effectively kept Miller at a distance.