The Marauders' Era (A Harry Potter Fanfic)

Part 9

"Ow!"

Remus rubbed the top of his head, where a bump was now slowly forming from the hard corner of the heavy book. He bent down to pick up Uses of Common Potion Ingredients, Pt 1, irritated; he seemed more clumsy than usual today.

He glanced out the window, and immediately regretted doing so as the rays of sunlight slowly faded to a soft orange hue. The moon, nearly full in all its glory, glowed with a pale yellow light that mocked his very existence. It stared at him with a cold smirk, cruelly reminding him of the night to come. A dark cloud hovered about, covering the globe for a moment, then announcing the grand entrance with a loud "whoosh" as the moon revealed itself again, an uncanny light illuminating the world above.

But then, when had anything been canny around him?

He ignored the voice in his head that sounded strangely similar to his own, and instead focused on the section on moonstones, determined to avoid the unmentionable. Sitting down purposely at a table the furthest from the window with his back to the... the... the lunar satellite, he took out an empty piece of parchment and his sharpest quill, concentrating on the essay he was supposed to be writing--

"Oi, Remus! My old buddy old pal!"

Remus sighed and massaged his temples. He would recognize that voice anywhere, along with the other two that quickly followed.

"Fancy seeing you here!"

"Wha'ch ya doing, all by your lonesome?"

He took a long, deep breathe before replying.

"Can't you see I'm trying to work here, guys?"

Sirius grinned. "Of course not. We enjoy tormenting you, Moony."

"Yeah, wolf-boy," said James, ignoring Remus' hiss of "Shh!". "You need to lighten up and have some fun."

"Actually, no, I have an essay to finish--which, might I add, you haven't started at all--that's due on Thursday, by the way."

Peter shrugged. "Well, there's always yours to copy for last minute."

Remus shot him a dark look. "You know you are supposed to do it by yourself, right?"

"Really?" Sirius scratched his head. "I don't remember anyone saying so. Prongs, you?"

"Nah." James flicked his wand, and the quill in Remus' hand flew away into his bag. "Dunno why anyone would come up with such an outrageous suggestion."

"Hey! How are you supposed to copy anything from me, then, if I haven't finished mine?"

"We could always use someone else's," said Sirius.

"We could duplicate Evans' like last time," suggested James.

Sirius shook his head. "Remember what happened that time, mate?"

Peter winced. "That wasn't pretty. At all."

"Which is why you should start writing your own." Remus leaned back in his seat and yawned, rubbing his eyes furiously to keep them open.

"Now, now, Moony. Where would be the fun in that?"

"I dunno, actually learning something for once?" Remus shot back a sarcastic reply.

"Haha, Moony, you're so funny." James took out a box of fudge and waved it in front of Remus. "Want some?"

Remus' expression brightened. "The new exploding caramel peppermint flavor at Honeydukes!" His hand shot eagerly into the box and grabbed a handful, taking a bite and sighing in contentment. "Thanks."

"No problem. Besides, someone gave to me."

Remus almost choked. "Not that love-struck fifth-year? Are you sure this isn't filled with love potion?"

Sirius waved his hand carelessly. "Oh, don't worry, we fed Wormtail some and he's perfectly fine."

"Are you sure?" Remus took another bite hesitantly. "Wormtail might be resistant to love potions."

"Nah," said James. "Remember when that meekly little Ravenclaw give Wormtail some cauldron cakes last year? For free?"

"Oh, no! You don't mean..." Remus stared at him in horror.

"Yes." James nodded solemnly.

"Merlin's beard! Was that why he had been staring into the distance and obsessed with the Ravenclaw Common Room for the next few days?"

"Yes," said Sirius seriously. "Quite a loss, really, since no one understood what he was doing those days."

"Was it actually that bad?" Groaned Peter, burying his head in his hands. "Hey, I think I've got some dust in my eyes!"

"This place is filled with dusty, stuffy books," agreed James. "Let's get out of here."

"But I still need to finish that essay!" Remus protested loudly. Madam Pince shot him a dark glare from behind the shelves and hissed very loudly, "Shh!"

"You can do it later," said Sirius, ignoring Madam Pince and prying the book from Remus' hands, throwing it into his book bag. "Relax, Moony. Thursday is only two days away."

"Yeah, that's such a long time away from right now," he snapped. "I should buy you all homework planners for Christmas."

"I'll have to decline that offer, thanks," grinned James. "But you really need to loosen up a bit, wolf-boy." He glanced around cautiously before lowering his voice. "It's the night tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know," sighed Remus, falling back on his chair. His head was starting to ache, and he dreaded--more than dreaded--the next night. "I still don't think it's safe. What if I hurt any of you? What if we come across someone? Or worse, what if I bit someone?"

"You know perfectly well that we can keep you in check, Moony," said Sirius, tossing a piece of fudge into the air and catching it with his mouth. "Besides, Hogsmeade is so fun!"

"I still don't think this is a good idea," muttered Remus as he rolled up his parchment, throwing it one last guilty look before putting it away.

"You never do, Remus ol' buddy ol' pal." James shook his head and feigned sadness. "Like when we offered to keep you company, and look at where that got you."

A ghost of a smirk crossed Remus' face. "Did you mean three bloody reckless, irresponsible idiots, Prongs?"

"Aww, I'm hurt." Sirius placed a hand over his heart.

"After all that we've been through for you, Remus?" Asked Peter.

"Oh, my poor heart, where has it gone?" Sirius sang. The others turned to stare at him.

"What... was that?" James finally asked, breaking a moment of silence.

Sirius shrugged. "Some new song I heard on the WWN."

Madam Pince suddenly reappeared out of nowhere, as though materializing out of thin air. "Please keep your voices down in the--What in Merlin's name is that??"

James quickly hid the box of fudge behind his back. "Nothing. Nothing at--"

"Fudge in the library?? Get out!" She waved a large feather duster at them. "Out, all of you!Out--OUT!"

The boys hastily gathered up their belongings before she had a chance to bewitch them to hitting them repeatedly, and ran out of the library doors. They could still hear Madam Pince's screech from a corridor away: "Fudge in the library!"

"Well, I reckon she won't allow us in there for a week or so now," said James, panting loudly.

Remus suddenly remembered something. Something very, very important.

He opened his bag, and the dirty, old cover of Uses of Common Potion Ingredients stared back at him.

"How on earth am I supposed to return this now?"

"Oh, relax, Moony. I say, who's in for a trip to the Three Broomsticks?"