I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth
The north side of my town faced east, and the east was facing south
And now you dare to look me in the eye
Those crocodile tears are what you cry
It's a genuine problem, you won't try
To work it out at all you just pass it by, pass it by
Substitute me for him
Substitute my coke for gin
Substitute you for my mum
At least I'll get my washing done.
Wednesday 22nd February 1978
The stalemate between Remus and Sirius lasted for the rest of the weekend. Sunday was the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw quidditch game, so they got away with not speaking much. They both sat together in the stands, cheering when it was appropriate, and booing any time the Ravenclaw's scored.
"Aaaand that's another ten points to Gryffindor!" The commentator called out through the megaphone, "An overwhelming sixty points now scored by team captain James Potter, no surprises there - fans are starting to wonder what will become of the mighty lions next year when they don't have their golden boy to depend on--oof, mind that bludger, Simms! ... nicely done! Though I must say, I'd have veered left, but I suppose not everybody is chosen for their dexterity, sometimes it's just about giving everyone a chance, regardless of ability..."
"Who let Lockhart do the commentary?" Sirius grumbled. "Stupid prat doesn't even know anything about quidditch."
"He told me he was lined up to play for Puddlemere," Peter said, "And the only reason he never played for Ravenclaw was that his coach said he shouldn't squander his gift in school games."
"You're so gullible, Pete," Remus nudged him, " I know more about quidditch than that twat."
"Yeah, and Moony knows about as much about quidditch as you know about judging character." Sirius added, his voice unnecessarily sharp.
Remus coloured. Fine, if Sirius wanted to be passive aggressive.
"Well, Padfoot," he replied, coolly, "If you want to do it so much, go and ask McGonagall. I think you'd be perfect for the job."
"You-what?" Sirius gaped at him. Remus raised an eyebrow,
"Oh yeah, you're the only person in this school who chats more shit than Lockhart does."
Mary and Lily burst into giggles, covering their mouth. Sirius scowled.
"Up yours." He muttered.
The game ended with 280 points to Gryffindor, but Sirius wasn't cheering.
Quidditch matches generally took up most of the day, from an early breakfast listening to James's pep talks, to the inevitable after party in the common room. Sirius stayed up late, so nobody noticed that they didn't go to bed together.
By Monday, they were on slightly more civil terms - or at least, neither of them wanted any of their friends to know they'd been fighting. Remus immersed himself in his NEWT revision - if he wasn't alone in the library, he was extending his group study sessions to run an hour longer than usual, each night. It was the week of the full moon, and he was utterly exhausted, but at least it made getting to sleep easier.
And he had to avoid Marlene too, of course. He deliberately skipped going to Madam Pomfrey's Tuesday night healing classes, just in case the subject of werewolves reared its ugly head again. Marlene was the sort of girl who would derail an entire lesson if she thought injustice was being done somewhere.
