The Marauders: Year Six Part 2 #Wattys2017

February and March

The weather was dreadful at Hogwarts so that the castle was soon buried under a thick layer of snow as time progressed and it made things quiet and dull about the castle. Most everyone was bundled in thick layers of jumpers and scarves everywhere they went, and the House Elves had their hands full off laundry to be dried each night as students played at tossing snow balls about each other in the courtyards between classes, their uniforms sopping wet so that even a good drying spell still left them feeling damp and soggy. Sirius invented a spell that allowed a snowball to keep from melting indoors until he'd thrown it and the result was an unending barrage of snow balls being chucked about the halls at the younger students by laughing Marauders - James, Sirius, and Peter, to be exact. Remus stood by, looking rather disapproving but not quite daring to insert his opinion against their entertainment, despite Lily Evans giving him the evil eye from down the hall several times. Any attempt he made to speak out would've been wholly ignored anyway.

True to Frank's dread, the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match ended in terrific defeat, and much to his frustration, even following the terrible loss, James still refused to play, claiming to have forgotten what a joy it was to simply watch a match rather than participate in one.

"C'mon, Potter," Frank pleaded. "See, look her. I've had your quidditch robes freshly pressed."

"I've told you, Longbottom,I'm quite retired from Quidditch," James refused, shaking his head.

"Must you be so stubborn?" Lily inquired, "The team really needs you, Potter."

"Sorry Evans," he replied with a shrug. "I'm simply far too busy."

Which was, of course, absolutely untrue, as none of the teachers were requiring James to turn in any assignments.

"You always complain about everyone treating you with pity," Sirius said one night, "But I tell you what, I could do with a bit of that sort of pity thrown my way! If Flitwick thinks for even a moment that he's getting that blasted Charms paper, he's mad as a hatter."

Soon it was Valentine's Day and there were paper hearts and candies being carried all over the castle by industrious house elves, with bags of the things slung about their necks. At lunch, an elf caught James's robe sleeve and tugged to present him with a large paper heart, glowing with glittering words that read Doe-n't pretend you doe-n't love me Prongs! Below the words was a drawing of a deer with big painted-red lips and long lashes that puckered and blinked seductively at him. He promptly turned about and threw a clump of potatoes at Sirius's laughing head, but Sirius ducked it, laughing so hard he fell off the bench and the food caught Lily Evans instead.

Remus was rather glad that what he got from Sirius was a chocolate frog and an invitation to go and make out in the Trophy Room Passageway later on.

The most surprising thing that happened on Valentines Day was not the card sent to James by a mysterious doe - rather, it was that Peter Pettigrew received three Valentines from three different girls. He turned red as could be when a house elf messenger stopped him in the hallway between lunch and their afternoon classes to perform a singing telegram sent to him by a Hufflepuff fifth year, who blushed and waved from where she stood, half-hidden behind a suit of armor. "Th-thank you," Peter stammered to her, embarrassed but pleased because even James hadn't gotten so many Valentines this year, and it felt rather nice to be noticed.

Sirius clapped him on the back. "Way to go, Wormy!" he said.

James's Valentines were mostly from first, second, and third years with unlikely crushes (and a couple more from the Doe, via Sirius), but he did receive one that came during Defense Against the Dark Arts that had no signature, just a little note, typed like with a muggle typewriter, that said To the Bravest Gryffindor. It was a funny, lacey white heart, the simple note the only mark upon it.