"Moony." James snorted, "I know it was you."
"Ah."
"Doesn't bother me," James laughed, quietly, "If anything it's improved my chances of winning the bet."
"Marlene offered to snog me," Remus said, suddenly, "But I told her I wasn't in the bet."
He wasn't sure why he'd chosen to tell James - or why he'd picked such an inopportune moment to do so. He supposed he just wanted somebody to know. Maybe it was a boasting thing - they were the ones who hadn't included him in the running in the first place.
"Ha," James said, "Don't tell Sirius, he'll never get over it."
"She'd snog you." Remus added, charitably, "She told me she would."
"Alas, it's not to be," James replied, casually. Remus was thoughtful for a little while, but they'd reached the clock now, at the bottom of the grand staircase.
It was very big and very beautiful, with a vast mahogany frame carved with various magical creatures and plants, the face and hands cast in shimmering gold.
Remus pulled out his wand and concentrated carefully on unbinding the protective charms placed there by a great wizard long ago. It took a long time; they were complex and intricate, braided together fine as lace. But slowly and surely, one by one, he felt the magic unfasten with a gentle pop somewhere in his midsection. He smiled at James.
"There we go."
James waved his own wand at the clock, and the longer hand rolled backwards five minutes. He looked down at his own watch, and they both saw it synchronise. James chuckled under his breath.
"See Moony, I knew it had to be you. C'mon, better get back."
They crept back up the stairs, quicker now, giddy with triumph. At the top, Remus had to pause for breath for a moment. He rested a hand on James's shoulder to steady himself, and the other boy waited patiently.
"Hey, James?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you really going to lose the bet to Sirius for Lily's sake?"
James's back stiffened slightly, but he didn't sound annoyed.
"Might not lose."
"But Lily's never going to--"
"I'm the one taking Divination, Lupin, not you."
"Yeah, but she hates you."
"She doesn't hate me." James chucked. "Lily Evans doesn't have a hateful bone in her body."
Remus said nothing to this, knowing it was quite true. James continued, "It's just not time yet, that's all. But I don't mind."
"Oh." Remus said. It struck him for the first time that James didn't simply fancy Lily. It was something else altogether. Remus wanted to ask more questions, but he didn't know how - he wasn't Sirius, he couldn't be that brazen.
When they got back to the bedroom, Sirius was pacing the floor, and the curtains were drawn around Peter's bed. It could be assumed that they had not used the time to settle their differences.
"Well?" Sirius barked, eagerly, as James and Remus threw off the clock.
"Done." James said, simply, yawning and heading for his own bed. He patted Sirius on the shoulder as he passed him, "Enjoy your five minute lie in."
* * *
And so the prank went on. Every night that week, two marauders would creep downstairs under the invisibility cloak and perform the spell to move that minute hand back by five degrees, so that by Saturday morning, every clock at Hogwarts was running twenty-five minutes late. So far, no one seemed to have noticed, and James and Sirius were getting restless.
Fourth Year: November (Part 2)
Comincia dall'inizio
