Four To The End (prev Shifting Lines) - Book One (Marauder Era)

Chapter Twenty-Six - Quartet Of Coolness

During supper Remus received a note from Professor McGonagall. Please report to the trophy room at 6pm exactly this Sunday evening (17th) for your detention.

"Detention?" Lily, sitting next to him, had noticed the slip of paper. "What did you do?"

Remus was torn between looking contrite and looking amused. "Hex Black."

"Good for you!"

Remus just nodded and began putting food on his plate. "He's n--not all that bad, and they did rescue us this morning."

Lily's nose crinkled up. "I guess..."

After curfew, Remus went to his dorm to spend some time alone--or try to. Almost immediately Black followed him, trying to get him to join them in a game of exploding snaps which Remus turned down. Black stood there looking like he was going to say something else, but then just mumbled an 'all right' and left. Remus returned to his book, not really paying attention to the words. What do I do about them? he wondered, idly flipping through the pages. He really missed hanging out with them, more than he'd like to admit. However being friends with them was very different than being friends with Lily.

Lily's not sharing my dorm, she's not with me as much as they would be. They'd see me more. There's more likely a chance of something happening, of me slipping up, of them seeing that humanity is merely a mask...

He bit down on his lower lip so hard he drew blood. The familiar taste oozed into his mouth and he just ran his tongue over the wound until it healed up, and the last bit of blood was swallowed. It was probably gross but by this point in his life he was very used to ingesting his own blood.

He leaned his head back against the headboard and stared at the curtains hanging down the end of his bed. He closed the book and ran his fingernail along the cover. I enjoyed spending time with them. I did. I want to. What do I do?

He was still staring at the curtains when Black and Potter came in a good half an hour later. Remus jerked out of his spaciness and quickly went back to his book, ignoring the looks Black was giving him.

*

On Sunday evening Remus showed up at the trophy room at five till six and had to wait miserably with Filch leering at him since apparently Remus was going to be serving the detention with someone else, as per McGonagall's orders... until Black finally sauntered in at five after. Oh great, of course, of course it's with him, Remus thought, gritting his teeth. He had the feeling this was gonna be a more difficult detention than the one with Hagrid had been.

"You're late," Filch growled.

"Am I?" Black pretended to look shocked. "I must invest in a watch!"

Filch sneered and shoved buckets into both their hands. "You'll be cleaning off as many as the trophies as you can until you're told otherwise... hopefully you'll be forgotten... hehehehe..." He lurched off, cackling to himself at the thought of them cleaning all through the night.

Black put his thumb on his nose and waggled his fingers at the retreating caretaker then sighed rather dramatically. "I suppose we better start, eh? Should have smuggled a radio in. So, what are you in for?"

"Hexing you."

Black nearly dropped the bucket he was carrying. "But I told Pomfrey and McGonagall both that Slytherins did it... I swear I did! Someone else must have seen it happen, then. Maybe Farrow was peeking out of the library."

"No, I--I went to McGonagall and t-told her," Remus said, glancing around the room. He intended to start on the opposite side of the room as Black however Black just followed him and began cleaning off the trophy next to the one Remus started with. "What d--did you do?"