The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

Fight in the Defense Hall

Fight in the Defense Hall



Remus paced in the dormitory from one end to the other, certain Sirius would tell everybody about his condition. He was wringing his hands and working himself up quite badly when James and Peter came in. Peter went right to rooting about in his trunk, but James paused by the desks, looking uncertainly at Remus and his apparent agitation. Remus paused his fretting and their eyes met.

"Seems classes keep getting harder," Peter was saying, continuing the conversation they'd had on the way up from the Great Hall, as he dug through his things. "Where is my book? James, do you see my Herbology book?"

"No, I don't," James replied without turning his eyes from Remus. "Where is Sirius?" he asked.

"Dunno," replied Remus, "Do I look as though I keep track of where he's at all the time?"

Remus's face was pink and hot, though, from the anxiousness running through him. He could feel the question burning in James's eyes - was Sirius right, and where was he now? Remus felt his stomach churn with the fear of what James might be thinking about Sirius missing. It wasn't fair, Remus though, to worry that his friend had been eaten by a werewolf - or, rather, to need to worry about it. It wasn't fair he had to be one, that he had the secret at all, but there wasn't a damned thing to be done about it.

Spotting Peter's book on the desk Remus used the opportunity to turn away from James and said, "Here it is, Peter."

Peter jumped up, leaving his trunk's contents spilling out all over, shutting up mis sentence, though nobody had been listening to his rambling anyway, and snatched his book. "Thank goodness! You get your stuff James? Remus? Ready to go?"

James shook his head, "Gotta get my gloves and book, you go ahead Peter, And save us the good table by the window for class."

"Okay!" Feeling important for being the one to save the table, Peter scurried out of the dorm quickly, clutching his book.

Remus turned away and pretended to be quite occupied by picking up Peter's spilled things. He heard James open his own trunk and begin rummaging about. Remus wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say. Perhaps he was quite sorry that Dumbledore had put them in this situation, that he didn't sign up to be a werewolf and he found himself quite as repulsive as they did, really. The air was thick with the unspoken.

Sirius rushed in then, quite breathless, and Remus half expected McGonagall to be right behind him with his expulsion papers, but she wasn't. Sirius looked around, "You won't believe it," he gasped, "There's been a fight, downstairs, in the Defense hall. Lucius Malfoy and Bilius Weasley!"

"What?!" James and Remus both asked at once.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Sirius, "Dunno what about but they're both in the hospital wing now! I saw Pomfrey levitating them up!"

"What did Tutman say?" asked Remus.

"Tutman wasn't there," replied Sirius. "Pomfrey only came because Frank Longbottom spotted it and ran to get her. It was a mess!"

"Tutman wasn't there? A fight in his wing and he wasn't there? That's odd," said Remus.

"I thought so, too," replied Sirius, "But he wasn't there!"

"Was it a quiet fight?" asked James, "I've heard some of the sixth and seventh years can do silent spells now... Perhaps...?"

"Oh, no! Definitely not. I could hear them half a corridor away, that's how I found out! I ran down to see what all the racket was about. A great lot of shouting going on and banging about. Looked as though they both got some excellent hexes in before it was broken up, too. They were both a right mess, but Lucius looked a bit worse. I reckon Bilius won."