Only the Brave

Chapter 34: Monster

James is exhausted but can't complain—won't complain—because the moon was a rather good one. A little tiredness is nothing, specially not in the face of what Remus actually goes through. So, James ignores the slight pounding in his temples and the itchiness of his tired eyes and plasters a smile on his face.

Moony was relaxed, playing with them inside the Shack and causing very little trouble. The night slipped away rather quickly, considering they stayed confined inside the haunted house. After the scare with Regulus in the Forbidden Forest, and the earlier incident with the hell hounds before Christmas, they all agreed it would be best to keep it indoors for this one.

The shower is warm and unknots some of the tired muscles on James' back. He hopes he'll be able to steal at least an hour of sleep during his free period later today, otherwise he'll be a terrible boyfriend and pass out on Regulus as soon as he meets him in the Come and Go Room tonight. At least Reg knows why now. Makes life easier.

Yawning, James exits the bathroom when he's done with his shower and sleepily nods towards Peter and Sirius who are waiting for him. Together, the three of them drag their feet through the castle to the Great Hall for breakfast, all yawns and quiet sighs of exahustion.

"You lot look like death," Mary points out when they slump together on the bench.

Sirius grunts, reaches for a cup of coffee. Peter leans against James' shoulder and promptly falls asleep. James, who is just as tired as the others but understands someone has to act normal, smiles at Mary.

"Got a bit carried away last night with our prank planning," he says, shrugging. "Barely got any sleep."

"Where's Remus?" Marlene asks, putting down her cup of tea to glance around like she's expecting Remus to materialise out of thin air.

"We were experimenting with dung bombs. One of them exploded and he singed his face. He's in the infirmary," James explains casually. "He'll be out in a couple hours."

"Honestly, you lot," Mary laughs.

Lily, sitting to her right, narrows her eyes at James but doesn't comment. Instead, she sips her tea and asks, "I thought your prankster days were over?"

Sirius, who has now chugged almost a pint of black, bitter coffee, leans forward. "We're making an exception. You know, to put the fear of Godric in the Slytherins."

Delighted, Mary claps her hands. "Love it! Let me know if I can help."

"Leave Dorcas out of it," Marlene warns. "She's off limits. No pranking my girlfriend."

James and Sirius both make affronted expressions. "We would never! Dorcas doesn't count as a Slytherin anyway," says Sirius, sounding genuinely offended. "Come on, Marls. You know me better than that."

Nodding, James adds, "She'll be safe, don't worry. We'll give you a heads up."

He should, perhaps, also warn Regulus. But James knows him well enough to understand he'll just take the prank anyway, whenever they get around to actually doing it. They haven't even agreed on what it'll be. But anyway, point is, Regulus wouldn't risk anyone noticing that they're giving him special treatment. He's fussy about how he's perceived, James has realised.

Scanning the Slytherin table across the hall, James frowns. Regulus isn't there. He finds Crouch and Evan sitting with Lestrange—that kid is always in their orbit these days.

"Marls," James asks. "Where's Dorcas this morning?"

Twisting her body, Marlene scans the Slytherin table quickly. "Oh. She slept in her dorm last night, something about people noticing she's been missing too much? I thought she'd be down for breakfast already."