Little Riddle | James Potter

• forty three

Peter lacked the sad look the other two boys had, instead, his expression was one of pure anger. "You can be really selfish sometimes," he muttered bitterly before going after his friends. It stung James, it really did, knowing Peter had to sacrifice his love for Alexis in order to keep their friendship. Remus still loved Catherine, cried himself to sleep every now and then, but he sacrificed his love for his friends' sake. But James was selfish, and no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't picture life without Marion. Even if it meant losing his friends.

James kneeled down, covering his face to muffle the sobs that couldn't be stopped from coming out. He was all alone now.
-
Alexis looked like a bizarre mixture of worn down and stoic. Part of her looked distressed while the other part looked like she couldn't be bothered. She glanced at the Professors' table from the corner of her eye, expecting one of them to storm towards her and give her detention for the next few months in any minute.

Her attention was so set on McGonagall she got visibly startled when she felt someone's presence next to her, relaxing once she realized it was only Remus. He had taken a seat next to her at the Slytherin table without muttering so much as a word, only offering her a sad smile that mirrored the sadness in his bloodshot eyes.

"I'm sorry Lexi," he whispered, making the girl look at him with a confused frown. If anyone should be apologizing it was her. "You've been going through so much and I—I just haven't been there," disappointment was dripping from his voice as he covered his face with his hands in distress.

And just like that, a glimpse of the old Alexis came back. Her heart ached at the sight of her dear friend in such a condition. "It's okay, Rem," she rubbed his back soothingly.

"No, it's not," he chuckled humorlessly. "It's not, Alexis. None of this is. We should've done something about Marion the second she walked in. We should've sticked together through this all. There's just—there's so many things we should've done." He rubbed his eyes tiredly, looking as defeated as Remus Lupin had ever looked.

Alexis sighed, a sad smile adorning her lips. "It is what it is."

"Which is why—" Sirius plopped down on her other side followed by Peter who sat across from her, "we'll be going to Hogsmeade today." Alexis could tell Sirius was trying really hard to appear more cheerful than he truly felt, which only warmed her heart, feeling touched by her loving and supportive friends. "We need that. A little fun."

"Maybe we should stop by Zonko's," added Peter as he reached for the scrambled eggs.

"Actually," Sirius said in a singsong tone, "I was just thinking about how we never gave Marion a proper welcome." A dashing mischievous smile, one fit of Sirius Black, appeared on his lips, letting the others know he was up to no good.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Invisibility cloak, a distraction for James, and the Shrieking Shack," he replied vaguely, although knowing Sirius they knew his plan was nothing short of amazing.

"Well, you know what they say," Alexis took a sip of her juice with a playful smirk decorating her face, "the Shrieking Shack is one of the most haunted places in England."
-
"Are you sure this is going to go as planned?" Peter asked uneasily as he walked into the village alongside his friends.

"If Davis doesn't screw up then yes," replied Sirius, doing little to soothe Peter's nerves.

Josh smirked, looking back at Peter with a playful glint in his eyes. "Don't worry, Pettigrew. I'll go easy on you."

"That we'll see," Peter muttered under his breath.

"But that's for later," Remus ended their brief discussion. "First we get ourselves some butterbeers."