There had only been a week to spare between the time Remus had left the Potters and the day he had to return to Hogwarts for the start of the Spring Term. There had been no time for writing and it was only as he packed his things did Remus remember the piece of parchment with Eleanor’s address. In truth, he had forgotten all about it; some how, what had happened to the Marauders in Godric’s Hollow seemed to be all that Remus had had the time to worry about. They hadn’t spoken of it since. They had returned back to the house to be met by James’ parents, and a million questions about what they had been up to; and why there happened to be an empty bottle of Fire whiskey hidden behind the waste paper basket in the attic room. They seemed to be ignoring it and, if Remus was honest, he was more than happy to forget. James had been right; there had been something eerie about the church and the churchyard. A strange sense of stillness seemed to cover the place, as if being there had disturbed something very important, something which they were not quite ready to know about.
It had not just been the strangeness of encountering a place so connected with Godric Gryffindor that had left Remus feeling more than a little unsettled. In the week before his return to Hogwarts, Remus had had the same dream over and over. Every night he would wake shivering with cold. Every night he had seen in his mind James sitting on the snowy ground between the large, foreboding tombstones, the snow splattered with blood. James would be clasping his nose, just as he had done when he had fallen, yet when Remus approached James would move his hand and mouth the words Help me.
They would not speak of it again. Remus would not tell the others about his dream. James had been shaken enough without Remus worrying him more. In fact, as Remus now pulled his trunk up the grand staircase towards the seventh floor, he felt guilty that he hadn’t bothered to write to James and ask him if he was okay.
“Building up those muscles, Moony?” a voice called from above, and as the staircase swung to change Remus saw that Sirius was running towards him.
Remus straightened up, dumping the trunk by his side and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand before he said, “Oh you know me; I adore exercise.” Sirius raised an eyebrow before nodding in the direction of the trunk. With Remus taking one side and Sirius taking the other they steadily began to climb and Remus was little embarrassed about just how much easier the aid of Sirius made it. Remus was not weak. He was by no means unfit or unhealthy, yet compared to James and Sirius (who seemed to spend every spare moment on the Quidditch pitch) he fell a little short. Of course, physically both Sirius and James were stronger, yet when it came to a dual Remus was quietly confident that it would be a little close to call.
“So how are we Mister Lupin?” Sirius asked, putting the trunk on its side and resting against it as he waited for the staircase to change. “Ready for another exciting term?”
Remus took a deep breath as he thought for a moment of what another term at Hogwarts could bring. He shrugged as they moved to lift the case once more with the words, “I’m not looking forward to the amount of work we’ll have to do, if that’s what you mean. Did you hear what McGonagall was saying before the break?” Sirius scoffed.
“I don’t know why you should be worried. You know, and I know, that you’ll do fine in your NEWT’s. You won’t even have to really try…”
“I just think that…well I’ve been thinking…” They had finally reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and Remus had stopped and was now struggling to steady his breath. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do with it all…I mean after.”
Sirius blinked and Remus knew what was coming next.
“Why worry about all that now? We’ve got so much time to think about that…” Remus was about to interrupt; to point out that even though Sirius may not have been worried about what was going to happen after they all finished Hogwarts, but Remus could not stop thinking about it. It would be easier for the other Marauders to find employment; even Peter, who was not the most astute of students, would not have any real trouble finding work. For Remus, on the other hand, it would be virtually impossible. James could work at the Ministry - become an Auror just as he always claimed he wanted to. Yet Remus knew it would be difficult for him to find anyone that would be willing to employ a werewolf. These thoughts were interrupted however when Sirius suddenly turned to him and said, “Have you got the new password yet?”
Remus shook his head and Sirius winced before he glanced hopefully up at The Fat Lady.
“You look different this term,” Sirius began every word oozing charm as he leant against the wall and smiled up at the portrait. The Fat Lady, who had been engaged in adjusting her elaborate headdress, suddenly seemed to notice Sirius below and now her eyes were fixed on him. Sirius smiled and Remus watched as his grey eyes travelled the length of her painted body before he said, “Have you lost weight?”
Maybe it was a trick of the light but Remus was almost certain that The Fat Lady blushed.
“Well I…” She giggled and Remus had to try extremely hard to suppress his own laughter. “Well maybe…I think so.”
“It definitely shows…” Sirius paused and Remus watched as he leant conspiratorially towards the portrait, his eyes fixed on The Fat Lady’s blushing face. Although Remus had seen this sort of behaviour a hundreds time before, it never failed to impress him. It was not as if Sirius made a habit of this sort of thing; usually there was no one he felt was really worth the effort. But occasionally there would be times when he would be bored, or when he felt he needed to impress and then, it would be fair to say, that no-one could flirt like Sirius. It was fascinating to watch sometimes; the little things he would do in order to get his own way; the affect the smallest of gestures could have. Now Sirius was staring intently into The Fat Lady’s small, blinking eyes and, in a voice barely above a gruff whisper, he began, “Do you think that you could find it in yourself to give us a break and let us know the password?”
The Fat Lady’s smile faltered and for a moment Remus thought that maybe Sirius was loosing his touch. Yet Sirius seemed unconcerned as he swayed ever closer to the portrait, his fingertips slowly caressing the frame.
“I know…I know that technically it’s not the done thing but couldn’t you make an exception this once?” The Fat Lady’s smile was returning; was Sirius going to persuade her? It certainly appeared so and Sirius was smiling too now; the kind of smile it was impossible to say no to. “Besides you know us…” Sirius waved his arm in the direction of Remus. “You know Remus, he’s a prefect….”
“Don’t you dare get me involved Padfoot,” Remus muttered under his breath, unable to meet his friend’s eyes for fear of laughing and breaking the spell of the flirt.
Sirius ignored him and once again turned his attention to the portrait.“Come on…what harm would it do?”
The Fat Lady began to giggle, her podgy hands smoothing down the front of her silk dress as she leant down to Sirius. Sirius stood on tiptoes to hear what was being whispered and, after winking to Remus, he said, “Flippity Gibbet.”
The minute they were inside Remus began to laugh, his side of the trunk slipping from his grasp as he wheezed uncontrollably.
“Sometimes you amaze me…” Remus managed, eventually suppressing his laughter long enough to speak.
Sirius bowed and, on straightening up, he said, “Like I’ve said before Moony, you’ll never understand what it’s like to be so impossibly handsome…”
“Well I suppose you must find it hard,” Remus began, his eyes carefully studying Sirius’ face, awaiting the reaction to what he was about to say. “I mean, not all of us could attract the particular attentions of The Fat Lady…”
Sirius scowled yet before he could reach for his wand and retaliate with a hex, Professor McGonagall had appeared, and was now preventing Sirius from moving by placing a hand on his shoulder.
“I hope for your sake Mister Black that you were not intending to break the rules already.” Her voice, although serene, masked a threat of many a detention and Sirius smiled as he withdrew his hand from his robes.
“Of course not Professor; I have every intention of doing Gryffindor proud this term.”
McGonagall stepped away, her perceptive eyes moving between the two boys before she replied, “Yes, well, I have no doubt that with the right sort of guidance you have the potential to go far.” McGonagall smiled at Remus and Sirius, catching this look, flung his arm around Remus and pulled him tightly into his side.
“Well you know Remus, he’s such a sweetie…” Remus tried to wriggle free, yet Sirius only tightened his arm around Remus’ waist, making it impossible for him to move. “He never lets us boys put a foot wrong.”
McGonagall, slightly confused, nodded before swiftly turning her attention to a group of third year girls who had stopped to chat in the portrait hole, causing chaos outside. The moment she had passed Remus pushed Sirius from him, and he nervously straightened his robes before he said, “You’re an idiot sometimes Padfoot.”
Sirius was laughing and dragging Remus’ trunk across the common room; not caring as he knocked into to furniture or the ankles of other Gryffindor students. There seemed little point in reasoning when Sirius was like this and as they reached the bottom of the staircase, which wound its way up to the boy’s dormitory, Sirius stopped before saying, “As you said before Moony, we’ve not got that long left. And I intend to make every day count.”
Without you, I'm nothing by Clare Mansfield
Chapter Notes: It is the first day back after the Christmas Holidays and Sirius decides it's time to make every day count.