Arseholes, bastards, fucking cunts and pricks
Aerosole the bricks
A lawless brat from a council flat, oh oh
A little bit of this, and a little bit of that, oh oh.
Dirty tricks.
From the Mile End Road
To the matchstick Becontree
Pulling strokes and taking liberties...
Oh fuck. Oh buggering hell. How on earth had this happened?! How had he let it get this far?! Remus’s mouth was dry, his palms damp, and the less said about his insides the better. He wished he had Sirius nearby, or even James, to help him calm down. But no one could help him now. He was on his own.
McGonagall turned to him,
“Ready, Mr Lupin?”
He swallowed, hard, and nodded. Time to bite the bullet.
Fuck’s sake . This was all Christopher’s fault.
* * *
The whole mess had started four days earlier. The marauders were in the library studying for their very last exam; Arithmancy. Well, Peter didn’t take Arithmancy, but he was there anyway; ostensibly for moral support, but mostly to provide sustenance. He’d been a godsend to Remus in particular, making hourly trips down to the kitchens and back with cauldron cakes, pasties, bacon butties and jam tarts.
“It’s half eleven,” Sirius yawned, “C’mon, I don’t think my brain can absorb any more knowledge tonight.”
“I didn’t think your brain ever absorbed any---ow!” James winced as Sirius kicked him under the table.
“C’mon,” he repeated, “It’ll be curfew soon, anyway.”
“We’re with the head boy, I don’t think curfew matters.” Remus replied, scribbling as fast as his quill would let him.
But James had caught Sirius’s yawn. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, leaning away from the desk.
“Nah, Padfoot’s right - we’ve been here hours. Let’s call it quits and have a refresher session tomorrow?”
Peter was looking at Remus hopefully, clearly bored out of his mind. Remus frowned at all of them.
“You lot go, if you want, but I‘ll kick myself if I waste any time on this - it’s our last exam!”
“You’re hardly wasting time,” Sirius said, “You’ve been in the library so much this term they’re considering putting up a plaque in your honour.”
“It’s necessary.” Remus said, “I want to beat Snape.”
“And you will.” Sirius soothed, “Come on, you’re getting black rings under your eyes.”
“Oh no,” Remus sighed, sarcastically, packing away his papers, “My roguish good looks, ruined…”
“Shut up, you handsome prick.” Sirius elbowed him lightly.
They gathered the rest of their books, cleaned up the crumbs as best they could, and headed for the library exit. There were still plenty of students studying, all in varying states of distress.
“I can’t wait for it all to be over,” Peter whispered, “Imagine! No more homework, forever!”
Remus must have looked stricken at this, because Sirius barked with laughter and threw an arm around his shoulders (that was a brotherly gesture, Remus decided, so he permitted it in public).
