All the Young Dudes ( Sirius' Perspective )

First Year : Revision

James’s birthday came only a few weeks later, and although their peers seemed to have less tolerance for another round of the marauder’s rowdy antics, no one could begrudge Gryffindor’s golden boy a bit of a birthday celebration. His cheery confidence and reputation as de facto leader of the marauders had already made Potter something of a celebrity to the first years, and even amongst the older students he was well-liked for his sense of humour and impressive knack with magic.

With anyone else, the popularity might have gone to their head. But although James certainly had an ego, its growth seemed only to bolster his acute sense of right and wrong; what he lacked in humility he made up for with genuine kindness and an eagerness to help others. So although twice in one month was a bit much, they still managed to get most of the dining hall singing during their repeated renditions of “Happy Birthday,” and Sirius finagled an hour on the quidditch pitch with some of the current Gryffindor team members. James was so thrilled, you’d’ve thought he’d been invited to play in the League itself.

As March drew to a close, however, Sirius found himself occupied with something much duller than party planning: exams. The entire school whipped into a frenzy, and you couldn’t find a single corner of the castle where there weren’t students frantically revising.

James threw himself into revision with the steady determination that he applied to any endeavour, which of course meant that Sirius had to buckle down, as well. He didn’t much care if James surpassed him when it came to homework assignments, but exams were another thing entirely. Sirius delighted in turning their revision into a competition, making bets with James about who would get top marks.

Remus tagged along for their study sessions, but refused to be swept into any contests. Unlike most of the student body, he didn’t seem to feel any pressure at all when it came to his grades, apparently satisfied in his ability to simply pass his classes. Sirius thought, privately, that Remus might be able to give both him and James a run for their money if he applied himself a bit more, but he wasn’t about to push his friend to study more now that he finally seemed to be easing up on the swot phase that had taken up so much of his time.  

Peter, on the other hand, was under quite a bit of pressure. Since his sister had run off to muggle college—a scandal of epic proportions in the wizarding community—it was apparently up to him to carry on the family legacy. From what Sirius understood, Peter’s parents were social climbers who felt strongly that their blood status should count for more than it did—although they would of course never say so directly. Unfortunately, what the Pettigrews boasted in blood purity they lacked in power, which often left them on the fringes of high society.

Sirius might have felt bad for him, except that he thought the scrambling of social climbers in wizarding circles was ridiculous, and he didn’t understand why Peter tried so hard to please his parents. Having always been at the top of the wizarding food chain, Sirius didn’t think it was all that it was cracked up to be, and he didn’t much care to try and understand why someone else might. Also, Peter was incredibly annoying about the whole thing.

“How much do we need to pass the year?” He asked, desperately, at least four times a day.

“Peter, calm down,” James would soothe, “You’re going to be fine; you know all the theory backwards now, it’s just putting it into practice.”

Sirius refrained from rolling his eyes, but once the others were out of earshot, he leaned over and whispered to Remus,

“I don’t blame him for being a bit twitchy. There’ve been at least twelve squibs in the Pettigrew family – and that’s just in this century.”