Jun. 29th, 2010 04:58 pm
Fic: These Four Kings (Year Two 3/4)
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fox_confessorTitle: These Four Kings (Year Two 3/4)
Author: Dani (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
escribo)
Word Count: 3363
Rating: PG
(Pairings: in the future will be remus/sirius, lily/james)
Timeline: January 24 (Wednesday) 1973
Summary: Peter has a secret, too
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended. I've not made nor seek any profit.
Year 1: one/ two/ three/ four/ five/ six/ seven
Year 2: one/ two/
Not that anyone had ever asked but Peter had a secret, too, though it was nothing like being a class V magical creature; still, it was one that he'd like to keep all the same. Thing was, it was hard to keep secrets around James and Sirius, and this was one they'd love to tease him about, he was sure of it. He could imagine Sirius' lip curling in the same sneer he saved for the Slytherins, against his family, spitting out words like poof and shirt lifter and really that was about the worst Peter could think of.
It wasn't even really a secret. It was kind of like how Remus liked to sit in the alcove on the third floor landing to read, he said, because he could hide behind the dusty curtains and no one could find him, not even Sirius, though Peter had followed him one day and knew that Sirius would sometimes sit in there with Remus. Or how James liked to sit in the tattered old blue chair in the common room, its stuffing falling out, because then he could see the bottom of the stairs that led up to the girls’ dormitories and know when Lily Evans came down, though he’d never admit it. This was no different.
Peter liked when Sirius got detention and James didn’t, and there it was, his secret, and not much of one, though it wasn’t anything poncy like what Sirius would say. It didn't happen often because they were almost always together, James and Sirius, in trouble and out, but this time it had actually been Peter's fault, though nobody knew, and he wasn't about to own up that it had been him and not Sirius who had sent a jelly legs jinx into a group of Slytherins and managed to hit Remus instead. It'd been an accident, honest, and would have been a good prank had it worked. He hadn’t meant to hurt Remus, though, hadn’t even known he was there, but then Professor McGonagall was marching Sirius to her office before any of them could say anything, and Peter woudn't have anyway because Sirius was looking murderous, and James was looking confused because he knew Sirius hadn’t done it, and Remus had been sent up to the infirmary because he broke his leg when he fell down the stairs. James said she was just sore because of what happened at breakfast and that he knew Sirius would never hurt Remus on purpose but especially not so soon after, giving Peter a significant look, but Peter knew it wasn't that at all.
It had all started that morning at breakfast when Remus had got a letter and a package from home. The letter was from Remus' dad, Peter knew that much, because Remus got one every week but no one ever got to read them except Sirius. Peter was sure they said interesting things like--well, Peter couldn't think of what they might say, but he knew it must be about Remus being a werewolf and would be better than the letters he got rarely from home, which only told about his brother's job or girlfriend or what strange things the Muggle customers his mum tended said or did, and that wasn't interesting at all. So on this morning, Remus got his letter and a package, too, which he let Sirius open because he said his fingers still hurt but Peter believed it was actually because he felt sorry because Sirius only ever got either howlers from his mum or serious letters on thick parchment from his dad that were worse than the howlers from the look on Sirius’ face after he read them.
Inside the package was a pair of red mittens with a thin gold stripe that Remus' mother had knit for him and matching cap with a gold bobble. Sirius had immediately wrestled the cap onto Remus' head, tying the ear flaps down with the strings beneath Remus' chin, and the three of them had laughed, James the hardest, while Sirius put the mittens on. Remus' mum must still think he's four to have sent him that when no one else was wearing homemade stuff, and especially not mittens and hats with bobbles. It was a jolly good joke though, to watch Remus' cheeks turn bright pink and to have Sirius sling his arm over Remus' shoulder, his head tipped back in laughter when he hadn't been in a good mood at all since he'd come back from Christmas hols and not even James could tease him out of it, and for the first time in weeks it felt like they could all take a breath.
It didn't last though because some Slytherins came by hissing about Remus' gifts, about them being homemade, about him being there on scholarship, and they'd sneered the word like he imagined Sirius would do if Sirius found out about Peter’s secret. Sirius was on his feet in an instant and would have swung for whoever was closest if Remus hadn't held him back and just in time because Professor McGonagall could move bloody fast when she wanted to.
So, it hadn't been an accident, Peter’s prank, not really, but Peter hadn't at all meant for Remus to get hurt or for Sirius to get in trouble. It still meant that he got to spend the entire evening with James all by themselves in the boys' dormitory, playing exploding snap--James' version--and talking about Quidditch, and that’s what he liked best and it wasn’t poncy at all. James was already Peter’s best friend but when Sirius was gone, then he could be James’ best friend, too, and he discovered it was even better when Remus wasn’t there as well.
It was right when Peter had been about to suggest a raid on the kitchen, which wasn’t really a raid because the house elves liked to give them whatever food they wanted, James just liked calling it a raid, that Remus came in limping slightly. He’d headed straight for his bed, not even looking at James or Peter, and climbed unsteadily up, twitching the curtains closed around him.
James was crouched on the floor in front of the wood stove, his hand still closed around the dice because it was his go. Peter bit his lip and studied him, waiting to see what he would do, waiting for the right moment to whisper about the kitchens, he didn’t want Remus to go because it would ruin it, and then he knew his moment was come and gone. James stood up and slid the dice into his pocket, walked over to Remus’ bed and pushed the curtain back enough so that they could see Remus was lying on his side, curled around his pillow.
“Sirius wouldn’t have done it on purpose,” James said as he climbed up on the bed to sit next to Remus.
“I know.”
“You can’t be mad at him.”
“I’m not.”
“Besides, it wasn’t him.”
“I know.”
At that, Peter stood up, his eyes wide, but they didn’t say anything else. He hadn’t thought that James and Sirius had seen. They were already a flight above, having run ahead. Remus was lagging behind, a book in his hands, trying to cram for the quiz he was sure they were going to have in transfiguration, so Peter had known he was there but he still wasn’t aiming for Remus. The Slytherins were coming down the stairs, the same ones who Sirius had almost fought that morning, and it had just come to Peter. He’d send a jinx, the only one he knew really well, into the group of them. No one would know it had been Peter, and it would have been a good laugh, James and Sirius would have laughed, if it hadn’t caught Remus instead and set him wobbling and then falling backwards down the stairs.
“Did it hurt?” James was asking Remus.
“No,” Remus said, and Peter knew he was lying because he wouldn’t look at James when he said it. “Madame Pomfrey said it was a clean break and she fixed it in a minute. She just made me stay because she thought I hit my head, too.”
“Sirius went spare. Professor McGonagall made me take him to her office and hold a cold towel on his neck for ages until Madame Pomfrey came down and they made me wait in the hall.”
“Why did she do that?” Peter asked, fearing for a moment that maybe he broke Sirius, too. James just shook his head, though, not answering. “She still gave him detention.”
“For fighting though, not because she thought he hurt Remus, and only for tonight, so I don’t think she really wanted to, and no points. She gave us a whole week when we got into a fight with those Ravenclaws, and that wasn’t even for real. I mean, we were just playing around and no one even got hurt, not really, and we lost ten points apiece for that. Sirius broke Avery’s nose and busted Snape’s lip before McGonagall even turned up and no points.”
Peter remembered watching James and Sirius turn when the group of girls that had been walking behind Remus had gasped as one as Remus began to fall and then Sirius had launched himself at the Slytherins. James had hesitated, his mouth open, until he saw Lily Evans kneel at Remus’ side, and then he’d gone after Sirius, pushing Peter over and against the wall. Professor McGonagall had turned up almost immediately, breaking up the fight, and Peter left then, not wanting to be caught.
“So where did Sirius go?” Peter asked.
“What do you mean?”
“He didn’t come to afternoon classes. Was he in the infirmary?”
“No,” Remus said, sitting up.
“So where did he go?”
“I told you, Professor McGonagall made me take him to her office.”
“All afternoon?”
“No.” James flicked his eyes to Remus’ then away. He cleared his throat. “He was angry. I mean, really angry. Professor McGonagall had Madame Pomfrey give him a calming draught and then sent him up here to lie down.”
“Sirius had to take a nap?”
Remus swallowed hard and laid back down, closing his eyes, the conversation done and Peter didn’t really think that was fair. He wanted to know what happened.
“Did you take notes for History of Magic, Peter?” James asked, changing the subject and obviously really not wanting to talk about Sirius, and that was the thing right? Because if James and Peter really were best friends and just left Sirius to Remus, then they could still be the Marauders without James feeling like he had to cover for Sirius and Sirius feeling like he had to cover for Remus.
“It wasn’t my turn.” Technically it had been Remus’ turn and before anyone could point out the problem with that, Peter took a quick step forward, twisting his hands one over the other, turning the subject again. “Are you really here on scholarship, Remus?”
Remus didn’t answer but Peter could see his neck turn a splotchy red and spread over his cheeks, real embarrassment and not like when James or Sirius said something to make him blush pink across his cheeks because it was funny. James kicked out at Peter and shook his head and Peter spread out his hands and shrugged his shoulders.
“Let’s just talk about something else,” James said.
“Is it true that only a silver bullet can kill you?” Peter asked Remus in a rush because it was the first thing that came to mind after the scholarship thing, and immediately regretted it when James kicked out at him again, hissing Peter. Peter knew he should have suggested the kitchen raid instead. "What? I just want to know." He didn't dare add I bet you want to know, too but he thought it was true. What was the point of knowing a real werewolf if you couldn't ask questions.
“No,” Remus said, sounding slightly horrified. “I mean, I'm sure that would do it but I can be killed in the normal ways, all of which I’d really like to avoid.”
Peter was slightly disappointed, like he thought Remus was going to have superpowers. He knew that wasn’t quite true but he thought maybe something like that. Peter skirted around James to perch on the end of Sirius’ bed, well out of kicking range.
“I can’t touch it, though, silver,” Remus finally said after a long silence and he sounded almost like he was consoling Peter.
“What happens?”
“It burns me.”
“Like it feels hot?” Peter asked, interested again.
“I get blisters, like a burn. It can make my skin melt, I guess, not that I’ve tried.” Remus sat back up on his bed, leaning against the headboard as he hugged his pillow against his chest. Even James looked interested now, Peter noticed. "It's like being allergic to something, like that first year, Longbottom, is allergic to Artemisia pus and his hands swelled up.”
"My brother said it was a way to tell, about the werewolf thing."
"You told your brother?" Remus asked, panic around the edges of his voice.
"No. I just asked him."
"You can't tell."
"He won't," James interceded, giving Peter an exasperated look that clearly said shut it and Peter knew he was pushing but he didn’t care because it wasn’t fair. Sirius wasn’t there and when he was, Peter would never get to ask anything because Sirius acted like Remus belonged to him alone instead of belonging to them all. And besides, everything he said couldn’t be wrong all the time. That certainly wasn’t fair.
"But that's what he said,” Peter said, and knew he was whinging. He really wished that Remus hadn’t come back until the morning, like he did when it was the full moon. Everything was ruined, the evening was ruined, and Peter folded his arms over his chest.
Remus chewed on his lip for a minute, looking from James to Peter, before he gave in, shrugging his shoulder. “I suppose you could use the silver thing to find out but you’d have to walk around touching people with a lump of pure silver, and I don’t think that’s even very reliable.”
“What’s not,” Sirius asked, tumbling through the door and slamming it shut.
Peter blanched at the sight of Sirius and felt a little guilty besides when he saw relief cross Remus’ features.
"Peter wanted to know the best way to tell the difference between a will o’ the wisp and a hinkypunk," James said quickly to distract Sirius and to cover for Peter. "For tomorrow’s Defense essay.”
“You haven’t done that yet?”
“Not yet,” Peter stuttered and slid off Sirius’ bed, smoothing the covers with his hand. He shot James a grateful look and breathed out, not daring to look at Remus. Instead, Peter watched as Sirius climbed up onto Remus’ bed and reached for Remus’ chin, tilting his face up so that he could look at the bruise on Remus’ cheekbone that Madame Pomfrey hadn’t healed.
Remus whispered, “It’s okay, Sirius.”
“It’s not,” Sirius said back but Remus was twisting away, clearly not wanting either Peter or James to see whatever passed between them. Sirius tackled him then, quickly pinning Remus’ arms to his side and holding him with his arms tight around his chest from behind, pushing him into the mattress. James stood and started to reach for Sirius before they heard Remus laughing when Sirius began tickling him. Sirius looked up at James suddenly, his gray eyes sparkling with his own laughter when he said quite calmly, as if Remus wasn’t collapsed into a giggling mass beneath him, “So what are we doing tonight, lads? Except Peter who clearly has his assignment to look forward to.”
“G’off me!”
“Well, once you're done snogging Lupin,” James started to say and Peter noticed that James looked quite relieved, too.
"I'm not!" Sirius sat straight up then launched himself at James, his fingers curling against James’ sides to tickle him and then they were fighting and laughing, both yelling, and Remus rolled up onto his knees, his arms wrapped around his belly, to watch them, laughing with them. Peter felt like he was the only one who didn’t get the joke but laughed anyway until their door swung open again, this time to Victoria Witherington, the sixth year prefect.
"Oi! Potter and Black!" Sirius jumped to his feet and held a hand out to help James up, who was still huffing out breathless laughter. “No fighting, then.”
“We weren’t,” James gasped out, straightening his glasses as if it might prove his innocence.
“Right. Enough of that for one day,” she said, looking pointedly at Sirius who crossed his arms over his chest and looked sullenly at his feet until the prefect left. As soon as the door closed, James grinned again, cuffing Sirius on the shoulder before he jumped back to sit on the end of Remus’ bed.
“C’mon,” Sirius said once James had got his breath back. “What are we going to do?”
“Me and Lupin were just talking about that before you came in.”
“No, we weren’t.”
“We could sneak down to Hagrid’s,” James said, a plan clearly already forming in his mind.
“It’s cold out,” Remus said, moving back to lean against his headboard again.
“You’re always cold,” Sirius said.
“Not.”
“We could go down to the kitchens,” Peter said, looking hopefully to James.
Sirius rolled his eyes and gave James a shake of his head, and James said, “Not tonight, Peter.”
“Besides you’ve your essay,” Sirius said and Peter wanted to say not, too, but couldn’t because Sirius was looking at him from beneath his too long fringe in a way that said he knew Peter had been lying about that and probably a lot of other things that day.
“Hagrid’s,” James said again. “He’ll have something interesting about his cabin.”
“I’m not going out,” Remus said and as if to emphasize his point, he slipped his feet, shoes and all, beneath the edge of his duvet. “It’s snowing.”
“All the more reason,” James said.
“No. I’m not always cold but I’m cold now, and I’m not going out.”
“You could try out your new hat and mittens,” Sirius said as a joke and Peter chalked it up as another thing that wasn’t fair because if he had said it, Remus would have gone red again instead of just giving that strange half-smile to Sirius and shaking his head no. “I’ll wear them, then, I bet they’re warm, and you can wear mine.”
Remus still shook his head no.
"We could take your map and add the south entrance,” Sirius wheedled, on his knees now and leaning his elbows on Remus’ knees so that they were nearly nose-to-nose.
Peter watched as Remus bit his lip, tempted, and then James and Sirius hauled him from his bed, knowing they had their in, and began piling clothes on him--Sirius’ spare jumper, James’ hat, Remus’ own scarf, Sirius’ gloves until he looked like a scarecrow and began laughing as James and Sirius pulled him this way and that.
Finally, they were ready to head out, James holding the pieced together parchment map and a quill, while Peter sat alone on his bed, and the other three disappeared beneath the invisibility cloak. Peter couldn’t help but think about what was fair and not in this world. It wasn’t a minute later that the door reopened and Sirius stuck his head back into the room.
“Don’t think I don’t know that it was you, Peter,” Sirius said, the gold bobble of Remus’ cap wobbling as he pointed his mittened hand at Peter. Somehow he managed not to look ridiculous and Peter ticked something else on his list. “It’s the only jinx you know how to do proper.”
“I didn’t mean to hit Remus,” Peter said, his voice going high and reedy as he remembered what Sirius had done to Avery.
“I know. Just improve your aim, right?” Sirius grinned at him, then, and shut the door behind him as he left Peter alone again.
next
Author: Dani (
escribo)Word Count: 3363
Rating: PG
(Pairings: in the future will be remus/sirius, lily/james)
Timeline: January 24 (Wednesday) 1973
Summary: Peter has a secret, too
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended. I've not made nor seek any profit.
Year 1: one/ two/ three/ four/ five/ six/ seven
Year 2: one/ two/
Not that anyone had ever asked but Peter had a secret, too, though it was nothing like being a class V magical creature; still, it was one that he'd like to keep all the same. Thing was, it was hard to keep secrets around James and Sirius, and this was one they'd love to tease him about, he was sure of it. He could imagine Sirius' lip curling in the same sneer he saved for the Slytherins, against his family, spitting out words like poof and shirt lifter and really that was about the worst Peter could think of.
It wasn't even really a secret. It was kind of like how Remus liked to sit in the alcove on the third floor landing to read, he said, because he could hide behind the dusty curtains and no one could find him, not even Sirius, though Peter had followed him one day and knew that Sirius would sometimes sit in there with Remus. Or how James liked to sit in the tattered old blue chair in the common room, its stuffing falling out, because then he could see the bottom of the stairs that led up to the girls’ dormitories and know when Lily Evans came down, though he’d never admit it. This was no different.
Peter liked when Sirius got detention and James didn’t, and there it was, his secret, and not much of one, though it wasn’t anything poncy like what Sirius would say. It didn't happen often because they were almost always together, James and Sirius, in trouble and out, but this time it had actually been Peter's fault, though nobody knew, and he wasn't about to own up that it had been him and not Sirius who had sent a jelly legs jinx into a group of Slytherins and managed to hit Remus instead. It'd been an accident, honest, and would have been a good prank had it worked. He hadn’t meant to hurt Remus, though, hadn’t even known he was there, but then Professor McGonagall was marching Sirius to her office before any of them could say anything, and Peter woudn't have anyway because Sirius was looking murderous, and James was looking confused because he knew Sirius hadn’t done it, and Remus had been sent up to the infirmary because he broke his leg when he fell down the stairs. James said she was just sore because of what happened at breakfast and that he knew Sirius would never hurt Remus on purpose but especially not so soon after, giving Peter a significant look, but Peter knew it wasn't that at all.
It had all started that morning at breakfast when Remus had got a letter and a package from home. The letter was from Remus' dad, Peter knew that much, because Remus got one every week but no one ever got to read them except Sirius. Peter was sure they said interesting things like--well, Peter couldn't think of what they might say, but he knew it must be about Remus being a werewolf and would be better than the letters he got rarely from home, which only told about his brother's job or girlfriend or what strange things the Muggle customers his mum tended said or did, and that wasn't interesting at all. So on this morning, Remus got his letter and a package, too, which he let Sirius open because he said his fingers still hurt but Peter believed it was actually because he felt sorry because Sirius only ever got either howlers from his mum or serious letters on thick parchment from his dad that were worse than the howlers from the look on Sirius’ face after he read them.
Inside the package was a pair of red mittens with a thin gold stripe that Remus' mother had knit for him and matching cap with a gold bobble. Sirius had immediately wrestled the cap onto Remus' head, tying the ear flaps down with the strings beneath Remus' chin, and the three of them had laughed, James the hardest, while Sirius put the mittens on. Remus' mum must still think he's four to have sent him that when no one else was wearing homemade stuff, and especially not mittens and hats with bobbles. It was a jolly good joke though, to watch Remus' cheeks turn bright pink and to have Sirius sling his arm over Remus' shoulder, his head tipped back in laughter when he hadn't been in a good mood at all since he'd come back from Christmas hols and not even James could tease him out of it, and for the first time in weeks it felt like they could all take a breath.
It didn't last though because some Slytherins came by hissing about Remus' gifts, about them being homemade, about him being there on scholarship, and they'd sneered the word like he imagined Sirius would do if Sirius found out about Peter’s secret. Sirius was on his feet in an instant and would have swung for whoever was closest if Remus hadn't held him back and just in time because Professor McGonagall could move bloody fast when she wanted to.
So, it hadn't been an accident, Peter’s prank, not really, but Peter hadn't at all meant for Remus to get hurt or for Sirius to get in trouble. It still meant that he got to spend the entire evening with James all by themselves in the boys' dormitory, playing exploding snap--James' version--and talking about Quidditch, and that’s what he liked best and it wasn’t poncy at all. James was already Peter’s best friend but when Sirius was gone, then he could be James’ best friend, too, and he discovered it was even better when Remus wasn’t there as well.
It was right when Peter had been about to suggest a raid on the kitchen, which wasn’t really a raid because the house elves liked to give them whatever food they wanted, James just liked calling it a raid, that Remus came in limping slightly. He’d headed straight for his bed, not even looking at James or Peter, and climbed unsteadily up, twitching the curtains closed around him.
James was crouched on the floor in front of the wood stove, his hand still closed around the dice because it was his go. Peter bit his lip and studied him, waiting to see what he would do, waiting for the right moment to whisper about the kitchens, he didn’t want Remus to go because it would ruin it, and then he knew his moment was come and gone. James stood up and slid the dice into his pocket, walked over to Remus’ bed and pushed the curtain back enough so that they could see Remus was lying on his side, curled around his pillow.
“Sirius wouldn’t have done it on purpose,” James said as he climbed up on the bed to sit next to Remus.
“I know.”
“You can’t be mad at him.”
“I’m not.”
“Besides, it wasn’t him.”
“I know.”
At that, Peter stood up, his eyes wide, but they didn’t say anything else. He hadn’t thought that James and Sirius had seen. They were already a flight above, having run ahead. Remus was lagging behind, a book in his hands, trying to cram for the quiz he was sure they were going to have in transfiguration, so Peter had known he was there but he still wasn’t aiming for Remus. The Slytherins were coming down the stairs, the same ones who Sirius had almost fought that morning, and it had just come to Peter. He’d send a jinx, the only one he knew really well, into the group of them. No one would know it had been Peter, and it would have been a good laugh, James and Sirius would have laughed, if it hadn’t caught Remus instead and set him wobbling and then falling backwards down the stairs.
“Did it hurt?” James was asking Remus.
“No,” Remus said, and Peter knew he was lying because he wouldn’t look at James when he said it. “Madame Pomfrey said it was a clean break and she fixed it in a minute. She just made me stay because she thought I hit my head, too.”
“Sirius went spare. Professor McGonagall made me take him to her office and hold a cold towel on his neck for ages until Madame Pomfrey came down and they made me wait in the hall.”
“Why did she do that?” Peter asked, fearing for a moment that maybe he broke Sirius, too. James just shook his head, though, not answering. “She still gave him detention.”
“For fighting though, not because she thought he hurt Remus, and only for tonight, so I don’t think she really wanted to, and no points. She gave us a whole week when we got into a fight with those Ravenclaws, and that wasn’t even for real. I mean, we were just playing around and no one even got hurt, not really, and we lost ten points apiece for that. Sirius broke Avery’s nose and busted Snape’s lip before McGonagall even turned up and no points.”
Peter remembered watching James and Sirius turn when the group of girls that had been walking behind Remus had gasped as one as Remus began to fall and then Sirius had launched himself at the Slytherins. James had hesitated, his mouth open, until he saw Lily Evans kneel at Remus’ side, and then he’d gone after Sirius, pushing Peter over and against the wall. Professor McGonagall had turned up almost immediately, breaking up the fight, and Peter left then, not wanting to be caught.
“So where did Sirius go?” Peter asked.
“What do you mean?”
“He didn’t come to afternoon classes. Was he in the infirmary?”
“No,” Remus said, sitting up.
“So where did he go?”
“I told you, Professor McGonagall made me take him to her office.”
“All afternoon?”
“No.” James flicked his eyes to Remus’ then away. He cleared his throat. “He was angry. I mean, really angry. Professor McGonagall had Madame Pomfrey give him a calming draught and then sent him up here to lie down.”
“Sirius had to take a nap?”
Remus swallowed hard and laid back down, closing his eyes, the conversation done and Peter didn’t really think that was fair. He wanted to know what happened.
“Did you take notes for History of Magic, Peter?” James asked, changing the subject and obviously really not wanting to talk about Sirius, and that was the thing right? Because if James and Peter really were best friends and just left Sirius to Remus, then they could still be the Marauders without James feeling like he had to cover for Sirius and Sirius feeling like he had to cover for Remus.
“It wasn’t my turn.” Technically it had been Remus’ turn and before anyone could point out the problem with that, Peter took a quick step forward, twisting his hands one over the other, turning the subject again. “Are you really here on scholarship, Remus?”
Remus didn’t answer but Peter could see his neck turn a splotchy red and spread over his cheeks, real embarrassment and not like when James or Sirius said something to make him blush pink across his cheeks because it was funny. James kicked out at Peter and shook his head and Peter spread out his hands and shrugged his shoulders.
“Let’s just talk about something else,” James said.
“Is it true that only a silver bullet can kill you?” Peter asked Remus in a rush because it was the first thing that came to mind after the scholarship thing, and immediately regretted it when James kicked out at him again, hissing Peter. Peter knew he should have suggested the kitchen raid instead. "What? I just want to know." He didn't dare add I bet you want to know, too but he thought it was true. What was the point of knowing a real werewolf if you couldn't ask questions.
“No,” Remus said, sounding slightly horrified. “I mean, I'm sure that would do it but I can be killed in the normal ways, all of which I’d really like to avoid.”
Peter was slightly disappointed, like he thought Remus was going to have superpowers. He knew that wasn’t quite true but he thought maybe something like that. Peter skirted around James to perch on the end of Sirius’ bed, well out of kicking range.
“I can’t touch it, though, silver,” Remus finally said after a long silence and he sounded almost like he was consoling Peter.
“What happens?”
“It burns me.”
“Like it feels hot?” Peter asked, interested again.
“I get blisters, like a burn. It can make my skin melt, I guess, not that I’ve tried.” Remus sat back up on his bed, leaning against the headboard as he hugged his pillow against his chest. Even James looked interested now, Peter noticed. "It's like being allergic to something, like that first year, Longbottom, is allergic to Artemisia pus and his hands swelled up.”
"My brother said it was a way to tell, about the werewolf thing."
"You told your brother?" Remus asked, panic around the edges of his voice.
"No. I just asked him."
"You can't tell."
"He won't," James interceded, giving Peter an exasperated look that clearly said shut it and Peter knew he was pushing but he didn’t care because it wasn’t fair. Sirius wasn’t there and when he was, Peter would never get to ask anything because Sirius acted like Remus belonged to him alone instead of belonging to them all. And besides, everything he said couldn’t be wrong all the time. That certainly wasn’t fair.
"But that's what he said,” Peter said, and knew he was whinging. He really wished that Remus hadn’t come back until the morning, like he did when it was the full moon. Everything was ruined, the evening was ruined, and Peter folded his arms over his chest.
Remus chewed on his lip for a minute, looking from James to Peter, before he gave in, shrugging his shoulder. “I suppose you could use the silver thing to find out but you’d have to walk around touching people with a lump of pure silver, and I don’t think that’s even very reliable.”
“What’s not,” Sirius asked, tumbling through the door and slamming it shut.
Peter blanched at the sight of Sirius and felt a little guilty besides when he saw relief cross Remus’ features.
"Peter wanted to know the best way to tell the difference between a will o’ the wisp and a hinkypunk," James said quickly to distract Sirius and to cover for Peter. "For tomorrow’s Defense essay.”
“You haven’t done that yet?”
“Not yet,” Peter stuttered and slid off Sirius’ bed, smoothing the covers with his hand. He shot James a grateful look and breathed out, not daring to look at Remus. Instead, Peter watched as Sirius climbed up onto Remus’ bed and reached for Remus’ chin, tilting his face up so that he could look at the bruise on Remus’ cheekbone that Madame Pomfrey hadn’t healed.
Remus whispered, “It’s okay, Sirius.”
“It’s not,” Sirius said back but Remus was twisting away, clearly not wanting either Peter or James to see whatever passed between them. Sirius tackled him then, quickly pinning Remus’ arms to his side and holding him with his arms tight around his chest from behind, pushing him into the mattress. James stood and started to reach for Sirius before they heard Remus laughing when Sirius began tickling him. Sirius looked up at James suddenly, his gray eyes sparkling with his own laughter when he said quite calmly, as if Remus wasn’t collapsed into a giggling mass beneath him, “So what are we doing tonight, lads? Except Peter who clearly has his assignment to look forward to.”
“G’off me!”
“Well, once you're done snogging Lupin,” James started to say and Peter noticed that James looked quite relieved, too.
"I'm not!" Sirius sat straight up then launched himself at James, his fingers curling against James’ sides to tickle him and then they were fighting and laughing, both yelling, and Remus rolled up onto his knees, his arms wrapped around his belly, to watch them, laughing with them. Peter felt like he was the only one who didn’t get the joke but laughed anyway until their door swung open again, this time to Victoria Witherington, the sixth year prefect.
"Oi! Potter and Black!" Sirius jumped to his feet and held a hand out to help James up, who was still huffing out breathless laughter. “No fighting, then.”
“We weren’t,” James gasped out, straightening his glasses as if it might prove his innocence.
“Right. Enough of that for one day,” she said, looking pointedly at Sirius who crossed his arms over his chest and looked sullenly at his feet until the prefect left. As soon as the door closed, James grinned again, cuffing Sirius on the shoulder before he jumped back to sit on the end of Remus’ bed.
“C’mon,” Sirius said once James had got his breath back. “What are we going to do?”
“Me and Lupin were just talking about that before you came in.”
“No, we weren’t.”
“We could sneak down to Hagrid’s,” James said, a plan clearly already forming in his mind.
“It’s cold out,” Remus said, moving back to lean against his headboard again.
“You’re always cold,” Sirius said.
“Not.”
“We could go down to the kitchens,” Peter said, looking hopefully to James.
Sirius rolled his eyes and gave James a shake of his head, and James said, “Not tonight, Peter.”
“Besides you’ve your essay,” Sirius said and Peter wanted to say not, too, but couldn’t because Sirius was looking at him from beneath his too long fringe in a way that said he knew Peter had been lying about that and probably a lot of other things that day.
“Hagrid’s,” James said again. “He’ll have something interesting about his cabin.”
“I’m not going out,” Remus said and as if to emphasize his point, he slipped his feet, shoes and all, beneath the edge of his duvet. “It’s snowing.”
“All the more reason,” James said.
“No. I’m not always cold but I’m cold now, and I’m not going out.”
“You could try out your new hat and mittens,” Sirius said as a joke and Peter chalked it up as another thing that wasn’t fair because if he had said it, Remus would have gone red again instead of just giving that strange half-smile to Sirius and shaking his head no. “I’ll wear them, then, I bet they’re warm, and you can wear mine.”
Remus still shook his head no.
"We could take your map and add the south entrance,” Sirius wheedled, on his knees now and leaning his elbows on Remus’ knees so that they were nearly nose-to-nose.
Peter watched as Remus bit his lip, tempted, and then James and Sirius hauled him from his bed, knowing they had their in, and began piling clothes on him--Sirius’ spare jumper, James’ hat, Remus’ own scarf, Sirius’ gloves until he looked like a scarecrow and began laughing as James and Sirius pulled him this way and that.
Finally, they were ready to head out, James holding the pieced together parchment map and a quill, while Peter sat alone on his bed, and the other three disappeared beneath the invisibility cloak. Peter couldn’t help but think about what was fair and not in this world. It wasn’t a minute later that the door reopened and Sirius stuck his head back into the room.
“Don’t think I don’t know that it was you, Peter,” Sirius said, the gold bobble of Remus’ cap wobbling as he pointed his mittened hand at Peter. Somehow he managed not to look ridiculous and Peter ticked something else on his list. “It’s the only jinx you know how to do proper.”
“I didn’t mean to hit Remus,” Peter said, his voice going high and reedy as he remembered what Sirius had done to Avery.
“I know. Just improve your aim, right?” Sirius grinned at him, then, and shut the door behind him as he left Peter alone again.
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