Four To The End Book Two (Marauders Era)

Chapter Eighty-Five - An Adventure In Baking

James, Sirius, and Remus stood by the empty bed, staring at the closed doors for several long seconds. They were holding hands, with Sirius in the middle, completely lost and when Dumbledore spoke, they all jumped.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine."

"Yeah," James said, letting go of Sirius's hand. "He'll be back tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, of course," Pomfrey promised.

Remus realized he was still holding Sirius's hand and he let go, but Sirius still held his hand and continued to do so. Then he realized he wasn't even supposed to be there. Of course the Marauders knew he would be, however Pomfrey and Dumbledore didn't—and couldn't—know they knew!

"I—I guess I should explain what I'm doing here," Remus said.

James and Sirius both looked at him, and understanding dawned in Sirius's face. "What are you doing here?" he asked, sounding genuinely confused. "I thought you were visiting your mother!"

Remus searched his brain for a plausible explanation. "I was... she's doing better. A lot better. I—I was going to come back yesterday but—but I began to not feel too well." He shifted a bit, wishing Sirius would let go of him. "I was going to stay home till I felt better, but it wasn't as bad as it normally gets, and I didn't want to be in the way—didn't want Dad taking care of both of us since it's hard on him—so I came back here last night."

Both his friends nodded. "Glad your mum's better," James said with a smile, "but sorry you're not doing well."

"I'm starting to feel better today already," he promised. "I might be able to come back to the dorms tomorrow morning, or even tonight. I should have been resting but I heard Peter screaming and got scared."

"You need to go rest," Sirius said, and used the fact he had a grip on Remus's hand to turn him towards the door to his room, giving him a gentle push.

At least he had let go of Remus's hand. "Yeah. Um, I'll see you later..." He hurried back to his room, wishing his friends could come too. He was so worried about Peter and didn't want to sit and fret alone. Surely Peter would be okay! It was a routine procedure. Sirius had it done at ten. Pete would be fine... right?

Remus asked Pomfrey when she came into his room a little while later. She promised him Peter would be fine. "It hadn't ruptured yet, so the recovery rate is extremely high," she said.

"A ruptured appendix isn't?" he asked.

"No," she said hesitantly. "It complicates the process greatly, and there is a risk of—of death. However Peter's appendix was not ruptured."

But Remus was thinking of Sirius, and the fact Sirius's appendix had ruptured, and why it had gotten to the point where it did; hadn't his parents taken him to Saint Mungo's when he was in a lot of pain...? "Why does it take so long to recover?" he asked.

"Really, he'll be healed up within an hour or two after they remove his appendix," Pomfrey said with a smile. "He needs to remain in the hospital for observation, to make sure everything went well. I'm certain he'll be back at school by lunch tomorrow, or supper."

"It's his birthday tomorrow," Remus said, not sure even why he said it.

"Oh! Well, he'll be back. What we need to talk about is the fact you ran out there..."

Remus shrank back a bit, fiddling with the blanket. "Ahh. When I heard Pete shouting I p-panicked, I got scared and ran out without thinking. I did cover my bandages so they didn't see... I think they believed my excuse though."