The Marauders: Year Six Part 2 #Wattys2017

Polar Opposite Magnets

"Are you mad?!"

"Shhhh, Evans, keep it down," Sirius said, rolling his eyes and swatting his palm in Lily's direction. His eyes swiveled to the front of the Potions classroom, where Horace Slughorn let out a great gasping snort and sank even further to the left in his chair behind his great big desk. Sirius dramatically swept his fist across his brow, as though they'd had a near escape of it, and smirkingly turned back to Lily. "Don't need to be broadcasting our business to the entire sixth year class of Slytherins, now do you?"

Lily was staring at Sirius incredulously. She leaned closer, their elbows bumping, "Still, you're absolutely bonkers if you think it's even something close to resembling a good idea to go gallavanting about out in those woods with Potter still so --" she paused, but there really was no word for what Potter was.

Sirius said, "All the more reason why we've got to." He glanced at the empty seat where Potter ought to be, Lily's cauldron bubbling away, untended, as she'd stepped over to stand at the edge of Sirius and Remus's desk. She held a thick splatter of frogspawn in one palm and a little jar in the other that looked to have tentacles sticking out of it. Sirius eyed the jar warily, then sweeped his palms over the cauldron, dusting tiny flecks of leaves he'd just chopped up over the liquid inside.

Remus's eyes watched the dusting fall, his eyes going nearly crossed as they fell into the cauldron. "Sirius, you weren't supposed to -- oh bloody hell, now you've created about twelve more steps for me..." 

Sirius didn't even pay attention, he was focused on Lily so hard, "It'll take his mind off the rubbish. Going about with the three of us is bound to raise his spirits."

"Or else shatter them completely," Lily muttered, but she took her jar of tentacles back to her own table - and only just in time, too, thought Sirius, as they stretched to try at catching the edge of the table as she went. The tentacles stretched behind her, keeping their grip, until Sirius whapped them with his wand and they recoiled. He watched them go, then shuddered and turned back to Remus and the cauldron, which had turned a peculiar shade of orange.

"Is it supposed to be that color, mate?" Sirius asked.

"No," answered Remus dolefully.

"GET UP POTTER, GET UP!!!" 

James groaned and pulled his duvet tighter 'round himself.

It did no good to ignore Sirius Black, however, and soon he felt the weight of Sirius thump on top of him, and the blankets were tugged off. He opened his eyes and looked blearily up at Sirius's vague form looming over him in the fading afternoon sunlight coming through the windows.

"Oi, what the bloody hell're you doin' asleep at this hour anyway?" Sirius demanded, raising an eyebrow, "You know it's barely after lunch?" He reached for James's glasses on the end table, unfolding them, and ramming the thick plastic frames onto his mate's face. "Here, you specky git. Put ya eyes on, then."

James adjusted how the frames set on his nose as the world came into focus and Sirius rolled off the bed gracefully. Remus was packing a couple jumpers for them each into a bag and Peter was counting out rations from the Marauder's stash of sweets. "What's all this, then?" he asked.

In reply, Sirius held up his wrist and James saw the magical tattoo over his pulse point was the dark silhouette of a forest, a little werewolf seated at the spot where Sirius's wrist met his palm, howling up at the growing yellow-white disc of the full moon. "You know what it's about," Sirius said, his voice low. He grinned a manic sort of smile that parted his lips wide and showed his teeth and made his grey eyes glint. He leaned closer and his hair, long and loose, hung wildly around his face as he said, "The woods beckon us, Potter."