The Pledge
"You must be joking." Peter raised a skeptical eyebrow as Sirius shook his head. "Then you're completely mental."
"'Course not, I'm a genius," Sirius replied.
"You're an idiot. Prongs will kill you." Peter picked up his quill and continued working on his Charms essay. He refused to look at Sirius, who grinned as he slammed his own book shut and leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head in that way he knew perfectly well infuriated his friends.
"He'll thank me," Sirius replied, certain of it.
Another skeptical look from Peter. "Why in Merlin's green meadow would he thank you?"
"Because he's been so wound up lately," Sirius explained yet again, leaning forward. Peter had to see it, they had all talked about it. James was one big bundle of nerves these days, taking everything so seriously all he did was snap at the rest of them when they didn't. "He works too hard, too long, too much. He's only eighteen!"
"He's Head Boy."
"He's a Marauder, not the Headmaster."
Peter couldn't help but grin, then shook his head as if trying to convince himself not to agree. "Quidditch finals are coming, and Kirke's working them to the bone."
"All the more reason to take a day off." Sirius knew it was a good idea, he just had to convince Peter of it.
Peter frowned. "The whole day? I thought you just wanted a night."
"He needs a full twenty-four hours to get everything out of his system, I think." Sirius was a bit envious: he'd love to be able to run free for a day, following his every whim and giving in to every impulse with no thought for consequences. Then again, he'd end up in far more trouble than James ever would, so it probably wasn't a good idea to take the potion himself. Besides, he had to be there as witness: he had every intention of keeping James out of trouble should anything go wrong.
Sirius could almost follow Peter's inner conflict as it played out on his face. "Look," Peter finally said. "Prongs may need a good shag, but not like this. He'll be totally brassed off."
"He's got a sense of humor, Wormy."
"And a sense of responsibility." Peter gave him a pointed look. "At least wait until after practice tomorrow morning. He's got a lot to handle right now. We shouldn't make it worse by getting him kicked off the team."
"We're not going to make it worse!" Sirius exclaimed, but he finally nodded as Peter continued to give him that look. "Fine. "I'll wait until lunch. But we're giving him a break so he can release all that pent-up energy and handle things better. One day of uninhibited fun. That's all. "He paused. "What could go wrong?"
"Knowing you?" asked Peter. "Everything."
"We'll keep an eye on him, make sure he stays out of any real trouble." Sirius was tired of trying to convince him. Why was Peter being so difficult? They'd all played pranks on each other before, it was what they did. Some came off better than others, it was true: Peter had taken a week to recover from the Stuttering Spell fourth year, but James had had no problem with the charm they'd placed on his shoes that had kept him tap dancing most of the day.
"You can keep an eye on him," Peter replied, nose to his parchment. "I'm not helping you turn one of my best friends into a raving lunatic."
"I need your help," Sirius pleaded, even though he didn't.
"No, you don't. You can make the potion all by yourself and you know it." Peter sighed. "Which is infuriating, given how little you work at it."
"I'm a natural," Sirius replied with a cheeky wink. He knew it drove Peter mad when he sloughed off his work, but the truth was that he did was what important, it just didn't take him as long. And if it wasn't important, he didn't bother. Essays on the use of Priori Incantatem charms in law enforcement weren't important to him, so he had ripped off something quick the night before: good enough for Flitwick to pass him, but not so much that he hadn't been able to lounge around the common room for the rest of the night.
"I need your help with the setup," Sirius explained as Peter grumbled some more. "No, really. Pete, you're better than you think at this stuff. All of it. And you can keep a secret."
"I don't want to keep secrets from my friends," Peter said, sounding petulant. Sirius sensed he was cracking, though.
"We keep secrets from each other all the time, even you. I know about you and Susan Pritchard in Hogsmeade last month."
Peter looked up, wide-eyed. "How the hell do you know about that?"
"Because I know just about everything." Actually, Remus had told him after a few too many butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks. They kept secrets from one another, but not very well.
Peter started cleaning up his things and stood up. "Forget it. I'm not helping."
"What the hell, Wormy!" Sirius called, earning him a murderous glare from Madam Pince. He grabbed his own book and ran after him. "All I know is you disappeared with her. I'm hoping it was worth ditching your mates for."
"You'll never know, will you?" Peter snapped back. "Since it's my business and not yours."
"Fine, fine," Sirius muttered. "Keep it in your pants. But don't hold it against James."
"What does that mean?" Peter demanded. "Was he the one who told you?"
"No!" Sirius shook his head, exasperated. "He didn't. I meant, just because I'm a git doesn't mean you shouldn't help him out with his problems."
"You're the one who thinks he has problems," Peter pointed out. But he had slowed down and seemed to be listening again.
"I know James. When was the last time he laughed, had fun? He didn't even go to Hogsmeade last month. And when was the last time you saw him look at a girl, let alone talk to one?"
"He talks to Evans--" Peter started, but Sirius waved him away.
"He works with Evans. He bickers with Evans. No, I mean in a romantic way. An interested way."
Peter coughed. "Maybe he's not interested anymore?"
"In girls?" Peter shrugged sheepishly, but Sirius laughed. He knew perfectly well James had experimented a bit, but also that James preferred long hair and tits. "No, he's too damn wrapped up in trying to be Head Boy, Quidditch star, N.E.W.T. student. He's too busy trying to be perfect. He just needs to be for once."
"It actually sounds sort of nice," Peter said, sounding reluctant. "No cares for the consequence. I'd love to have a day like that."
Sirius clapped him on the shoulders. "Then I will treat you to such a day sometime as well. But right now we have to do this for our friend. James needs us."
"I have a bad feeling about this," Peter muttered as Sirius steered him toward the Entrance Hall and out onto the lawn to where James and Remus were waiting for them under the beech tree.
"Don't worry," said Sirius. "It'll be brilliant."
* * *
"Don't be such a wet blouse, Moony." James picked up a flat rock and skipped it across the pond, counting each set of circles as it went. "Six. It's not going to hurt him."
"Of course it's not," Remus replied calmly. He tossed his own rock across the water. "Five."
"Then what's the problem?" asked James.
"No problem. I'm just not sure I see the point."
James gave him an exasperated look, then sent his stone skimming over the water. "Why does there have to be a point? Four. That was rubbish."
"Because it's our last year, N.E.W.T.s are in less than three months, and you're the Head Boy." Remus cast a large stone and whooped as it sailed halfway across the pond. "Eight!"
"Don't remind me," James muttered with an annoyed sigh. A flurry of tentacles bubbled to the surface; apparently they were annoying the squid, so they moved away and sat by their favorite birch tree on the shore.
"Well, if you recognize all that, then what's the point?" Remus repeated.
"Sirius doesn't," James said, picking at the grass around him.
"Doesn't what?"
"He doesn't realize what you just said," James replied. "He doesn't realize what it means."
Remus sighed. "I know, but a prank isn't going to do that for him."
"It can give him a good kick in the arse." James paused and gave Remus a sly smile. "Besides, it could be fun and it is April Fool's. Wouldn't you like to see him with his nose stuck in a book all day?"
"He knows what a book is, James."
"Something to hold his bottle of Firewhiskey," laughed James, and Remus joined him. "I know he studies, but not as much as he should."
"Is that really our call?" asked Remus.
"As friends? Sure. I don't want him to fail."
Remus snorted as he laid back under the tree. It was a surprisingly warm day for the end of March, and they were meeting Peter and Sirius outside to enjoy it while it lasted. "He's not going to fail, and you know it. He's too good."
"I know," James muttered. "It's bloody annoying."
"Tell me about it." Remus glanced up at him, shielding his eyes from the sun. "But you are too, you know. Good."
James waved him off. "I'm working my bollocks off this year, and all he ever does is give me a hard time. I'm sick of it."
"So drugging him is the answer…how again?"
"So he can feel my pain." James laughed again, though it was hard to explain. He just felt like Sirius needed a lesson in growing up before it was too late. He took too much for granted and not enough seriously.
"We'll feel it, more likely," said Remus.
"Oh, it won't be worth getting worked up over. He'll be fine with it." He paused and rolled his eyes when Remus gave him another skeptical look. "Okay, so the entire school might take the piss out of him, but that's it."
"That's not what I'm worried about," Remus replied. "It's the getting back part I'm worried about--not to mention the getting caught."
"So we get caught." James shrugged, for once not particularly worried about it. "We'll get caught doing exactly what he would have wanted us to do--have a bit of fun watching him scramble."
"If you say so," laughed Remus. "But it might be more fun to just run down to the Three Broomsticks for a pint--or ten."
"Why Remus, I had no idea you were so fond of strong drink," James replied in mock surprise. Remus sighed dramatically as he closed his eyes and smiled.
"Sometimes I need it to keep up with you lot."
"Then we'll celebrate afterwards. I'll get you your own cask if you like."
"If you survive."
"Ever the skeptic, Moony."
"Only when it comes to you two."
* * *