✓ | EPISKEY → remus lupin [ discontinued ]

Chapter Fifteen

"I can help you, if you'd like," James said, mimicking Remus' earlier words to Alanna. Remus shoved his friend with a goofy smile on his face.

"Shove a sock in it, Potter," he murmured in amusement.

"Make me, Lupin," James bit back. Remus growled and grabbed his friend in a headlock.

"Hey -- ow, Remus -- no, not the hair --"

Remus released James and found that the boy's glasses were askew and his hair was far messier than normal. He still looked as good as he did before, minus the glasses. James was the only one of the four boys and many others who could pull off the messy hair look. Many girls swooned over him for it, whereas many more drooled over Sirius' freshly washed and perfectly gelled locks instead. There were constant debates about who wore which style better. And all it did to the two boys was inflate their heads even more.

"Hey, so, um ..." Remus cleared his throat. "I'm leaving for the Christmas holidays early," he said quickly, hoping none of the three boys heard him very clearly.

"Wait, what?" Sirius asked as he rounded on his friend in the middle of the corridor. "You're leaving? When?"

"Uh ... C-can we talk about this somewhere else? Like, somewhere less public?" Remus asked quietly.

"When are you leaving?" James pressed. Remus sighed and rubbed his scarred face.

"Tomorrow," he muttered ever-so-quietly. He was surprised his friends even heard him.

"Tomorrow?!" James repeated in disbelief. "Why, Remus?"

"Can't you stay at least until Saturday, when classes are over and we can spend a little more quality time together?" Sirius asked him. Remus shook his head.

"No, absolutely not," he said a little too quickly. "Look, my mum's really sick and she needs all the help she can get at home. I'm the only person who can do that for her, since my dad's always at work and there's nobody else to take care of her."

"We can come help you," James said immediately. "During the holidays. I'm sure our parents'll say yes, and your mum probably doesn't mind the extra help, so--"

"No!" Remus cried quickly. He composed himself before speaking in a calmer tone. "No. It's fine, I can handle it. My dad isn't working all the time, he'll still help out. I'm sure it's not even as bad as they say it is. She's probably just got, uh ... a really, really bad cold or something like that."

Peter frowned. "Will you write us over the holidays?"

"Of course I will," Remus assured his friends. "Besides, we still have tonight and most of tomorrow. My dad made it a point that I leave when classes are done, so we still have all of those together."

"Right," Sirius said quietly. "Well, I guess we can just ... hang out?"

Remus smiled. "I think that's probably for the best." He quickly lowered his voice in the crowded corridor. "And if there's enough time to plan it, d'you reckon we can pull off another prank on Filch?"

"Ooh!" James said with a sly smirk. "Little Lupin isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, is he?"

Remus shook his head. "Who wants to?"

"I'm down," Sirius said immediately.

"Definitely," James agreed. The three Gryffindors looked to Peter, who just shrugged.

"I guess it can't hurt, right? A little way to end the term with a bang."

Sirius gave Peter a strange look before he grinned evilly. "Peter, my boy, you are a genius."