The Marauders Year Five Part 2 #Wattys2017

Book Chocolate

Book Chocolate

James Potter had been asked to the Valentine Tea by no less than ten different girls from three different Houses. He'd turned them all down, giving them all exactly the same answer: "I'm going stag."

"He's going alone to the Tea? That's idiotic," whispered Carly Shaw when he'd turned her down on February 13. "I wonder who he's really said yes to."

"He's said yes to nobody," answered McKenna, who had also tried her own hand at asking him the day before. The whole lot of Gryffindor girls were sitting 'round in Lily Evans' private dormitory room around the latest issue of Witch Weekly, trying new spells for turning their nails shiny gold.

Lily smirked to herself and said, "Maybe Sirius and Remus have rubbed off on him and he's asked Peter."

The other girls all turned and looked at Lily, aghast. "James Potter's gay now, too?" breathed McKenna.

"Why are all the boys going gay?!" wailed Annalee.

"Perhaps they've seen you and decided to go after one another instead," said Lily snarkily. She hadn't yet forgiven Annalee for starting the rumors against Sirius that were still circulating under the radar throughout the school, even though they'd reduced to whispers in dark corners and half-joking remarks.

"You're going with Jasper Odair, aren't you, Lil?" Ali asked, changing the subject before Annalee could retort.

Lily nodded, "Yes, Jasper's asked me and I've said yes. And you're going with Frank, of course."

"Of course," Ali answered. "Do you have a date now, McKenna?"

"Since I've moved on from Sirius Black? Yes. I'm going with a Ravenclaw boy Marlene's introduced me to."

Annalee sat sulking for sometime as the girls chattered, only half including her.

Early in the morning on Saturday, Valentine's Day, Remus woke before the sunrise, gritting his teeth. He couldn't move. His entire back felt like one gigantic knot and his legs were cramped up so bad he felt as though his muscles would have to be cut to release themselves from the tension. Sirius was entwined around him from behind, his legs and arms draped around Remus's body, his face pressed into the back of Remus's hair, his hot breath on Remus's neck... The drawer with the aconite leaves seemed a hundred miles away. With a shaking hand, Rey tried desperately to roll onto his stomach to reach them, desperate to alleviate the aches in his legs... but when he moved, a shooting, horrible pain went up his spine as every muscle in his body spasmed and he let out a cry, "Sirius!"

Awake instantly, Sirius sat up, "What is it? What is it?" But Rey was biting his own hand, in the fatty part of his thumb, trying to keep from screaming in his agony and couldn't answer. Sirius leaned over him for the box of aconite in the drawer and Remus let out high pitched whimpers 'round the coppery flavor of his own blood filling his mouth as he chomped down hard enough on his hand that red droplets appeared 'round his teeth.

Sirius pulled several of the leaves out of the box and leaned down, "Here, Moony, here... the aconite'll help...Don't bite yourself like that, come now... See, look what you've done, there's blood..." Sirius put one of his fingers in the side of Remus's mouth and gently pushed his teeth up and out of his flesh, pulling his fist out of his mouth. He pushed the aconite in. "See, much better than your hand. Oh what a mess you've made..." he frowned as he inspected the two half-moon bite marks Remus had left in his own skin and fumbled for his wand.