Sick Day

A Series of Extraneous Circumstances

     James Potter was working too hard. She snorted to herself as the thought crossed her mind, but it was undeniable. As he staggered into the Great Hall, bleary eyed and bedraggled, Lily Evans couldn't help but feel worried for the boy she'd come to consider her friend. Though his appointment as Head Boy came as a shock to the entirety of the student body and staff at Hogwarts, he had shouldered the responsibility well. A little too well, according to Lily, who could plainly see that the added strain of Head Boy on top of Quidditch Captain, N.E.W.T.s, and a private study in Transfiguration was beginning to take its toll. It was mid-November, and everything in their lives, from school work to the political climate, seemed to be vamping up steadily, with no end in sight. Lily, who was no slacker herself, found that, without fail, James Potter was working in the common room long after she herself turned in and was gone by the time she awoke. 

    James collapsed onto the bench across from her, dark hair freshly showered and still damp from early morning Quidditch practice. "G'morning," he mumbled, buttering a piece of toast for himself. 

    "How was practice?" Lily inquired.

    "Hmph? - oh, it was fine, I guess. Still too bleeding early, but fine. Cold." James began adamently attacking a platter of bacon to his left. "We're gonna get creamed next Saturday, and by Slytherin of all the other houses." Gryffindor house had talked some smack with the Slytherins concerning the outcome of the coming match. He glanced up at her pleadingly, "Just kill me now and spare me the humiliation, why don't you?"

     She frowned, "If it were any other week they'd be quaking in their boots. If we lose because they took out our starters, I think, at least morally, we still won."

    "Moral victory doesn't get us the Cup," James sighed, "and besides, our reserves leave something to be desired, skill-wise. Longbottom is still working with the sub beater on the pitch. Hopefully, by the time we play, he'll be able to differentiate between the bludger and his teamates. And the chaser I got to fill in for Marlene is hopeless."

    "Don't let 'em here you saying that, Prongs. Though you know you could never replace me." Sirius smacked the back of James' head as he sat down, followed closely by Peter and Remus. James winced, and at the looks of concern from his friends, grunted, "Headache."

     Sirius, who still had his arm in a sling from an unfortunate incident involving some Slytherins, patted him on the back, "Sorry mate, why don't you go down to Pomfrey and get something for it?"

    "No time today, although if it persists," he joked, "I have a five minute window of time scheduled in December of next year."

     "Isn't that the truth?" Remus sighed, "The prefect meeting tonight. And that essay for Slughorn and the star chart interpretation for Sinistra were murder! Maybe your headache's from that, Prongs."

     "Yeah, maybe," James mumbled. "Or maybe it's from . . ." He trailed off, standing abruptly, "SHIT! Slughorn's essay! Shit, shit, shit, shit! I knew I got too much sleep last night. I gotta go finish that or I'm dead. Shit!" He practically ran from the Great Hall, leaving his friends stunned.

    "That," Peter said quietly, "was too much sleep?"

     "I'd hate to see what too little is," said Sirius nonchalantly. 

     "Well, I'd reckon too little would be none at all, and that," Lily said, gesturing to the exit, "was just about three hours or so."

     "Bloody hell, Evans! You live with him, don't you?!" Sirius complained. "Tell the boy to get some sleep! Three hours or less is my definition of dead man walking! Fit conditions for no one to live under!"

      "Easier said than done. Last time I tried, he nearly hexed me." She grumbled. "Did you know your roommate of six years actually does study? How can I argue with him when he's studying?"  Lily sighed. Sirius looked amused, but Remus and Peter gaped.

   "He does what?!" Peter stammered

   "You know, contrary to public opinion, James and I can only depend on our stunning looks and charisma to get us through 90 percent of our classes. The rest, we have to accomplish through the same mundane and arduous methods as the rest of you." Sirius grinned. "Although, I'd appreciate it if you kept this dangerous new information close to the vest. Can't have the rest of the school losing their idols, now can we?"

      "But anyway, we've got an arrangement right now. He gets no more than two all-nighters a week and I'm rationing his coffee to three cups a day to encourage sleep."

    "James started drinking coffee?!" Sirius exclaimed. "What happened to him?"

    "Yeah, as of last year, I thought the company line was that coffee was too bitter and untealike for civilized company." Remus added, "I got shamed when I started drinking it."

    "Well, then he's a hypocrite," Lily sighed. "I had to knock him down from seven cups. I swear, he was going into caffeine withdrawal. Can one of you at least try talking sense into him?" She really was getting worried about him. After all, they were friends now and James really did look awful this morning. 

   "Sorry to disappoint, but if the great Lily Evans can't talk sense into him, then I'm afraid there's little for the rest of us to do." Sirius proclaimed as Lily pouted at him.

    "But we'll try," Peter added.