Selenophile // Marauders

|62| Friendship, Fifth Year

It was the Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL the very next day.

The exam was easy, at least for Riley. She could now at least focus on a word without getting a headache, and she finished it twenty minutes before the time.

"Five more minutes!" Flitwick announced as he wandered around the desks, looking at each table.

Sirius gave James a thumbs-up. Sirius was lounging in his chair at his ease, tilting it back on two legs. He looked calm. Remus was absorbed in his exam, rereading his answers and scratching his chin with the end of his quill. Peter was chewing his fingernails anxiously. James was scratching the initials 'L.E' on the parchment along with a sketch of a snitch.

"Quills down, please!" squeaked Professor Flitwick. "That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!"

Over a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed into the air and into Professor Flitwick's outstretched arms, knocking him backward off his feet. Several people laughed. A couple of students at the front desks got up, took hold of Professor Flitwick beneath the elbows, and lifted him back onto his feet.

"Thank you... thank you," panted Professor Flitwick. "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!"

"Did you like question ten, Moony?" asked Sirius as they emerged into the Entrance Hall.

"Loved it," said Remus briskly. "Give five signs that identify the werewolf. Excellent question."

"D'you think you managed to get all the signs?" said James in tones of mock concern.

"Think I did," said Lupin seriously, as they joined the crowd thronging around the front doors eager to get out into the sunlit grounds. "One: he's sitting on my chair. Two: he's wearing my clothes. Three: his name's Remus Lupin."

"I got the fact that they are sarcastic, nerdy, and coming up with amazing comebacks!" Riley said rather quieter than the others. She looked happier than the last day.

Wormtail was the only one who didn't laugh. "I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes and the tufted tail," he said anxiously, "but I couldn't think what else—"

"How thick are you, Wormtail?" said James impatiently. "You run 'round with a werewolf once a month—"

"Keep your voice down," implored Remus.

"Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake," she heard Sirius say. "I'll be surprised if I don't get 'Outstanding' on it at least."

"Me too," said James. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a struggling Golden Snitch.

"Where'd you get that?" Riley asked.

"Nicked it," said James casually. He started playing with the Snitch, allowing it to fly as much as a foot away before seizing it again; his reflexes were excellent. Wormtail watched him in awe.

"You're quidditch captain and you still steal the snitch..." Riley said mockingly. "Pathetic, really Prongs."

They stopped in the shade of the very same beech tree on the edge of the lake. Snape had settled himself on the grass in the dense shadow of a clump of bushes. He was as deeply immersed in the OWL paper as ever.

James was still playing with the Snitch, letting it zoom further and further away, almost escaping but always grabbed at the last second. Peter was watching him with his mouth open. Every time James made a particularly difficult catch, Wormtail gasped and applauded.

"Put that away, will you," said Sirius finally, as James made a fine catch and Wormtail let out a cheer, "before Wormtail wets himself with excitement."