ludic • remus lupin

19 • Because youre James Potter

The potion wasn't nearly as difficult as they'd thought- well, it did take about a month. Getting three objects from three different people was simple- one from James, one from Peter, and one from Sirius. All it took was a 10 galleons and Josie Finnigan dove to the bottom of the black lake to get a pearl, and the broken heart one wasn't too difficult - Lily had rejected James once again, so he sat in his room with teary eyes. And DNA from Kathy was all too easy - Sirius went right up to her face and cut off a thick strand of hair.

Severus and Coco sat in the room of requirement, silently adding final touches to the potion, when Coco broke the silence.

"Severus, what did you want in return for making this potion? We had made a deal, i'd do something for you, remember?" She reminded, then it returned to silence. Severus lightly smiled, which looked foreign on his face, and looked up at Coco.

"You already have." He said in a voice just above a whisper, and continued stirring the cauldron.

"What?" Coco inquired, confused.

"I just wanted to talk to Lily, one more time, if she isn't to forgive me. We've been talking all month about the potion, and i'm afraid it'll stop now, but that's all I wanted." He admitted, then stopped stirring when the potion turned thick and pink.

In that moment, he was so human to Coco that she almost wanted to break down and cry, apologizing for all her friends had put him through.

But a guilty part of her that she refused to accept, didn't always want to admit that James and Sirius were in the wrong. She loved them so much, her mind almost refused to believe that they could be in fact, considered bullies.

So she remained silent about it.

"I'm glad." Was all she could say. Severus poured the potion into a small vial, after he let some evaporate.

"Doesn't matter how this gets in him, just make sure it does." Severus said, and he handed it to Coco, then wordlessly left the room.

-

"How will we get him to drink this?" Coco said with a sigh, fiddling with the bottle. James, who was seated shoulder to shoulder next to her, examined it closely. He had been very protective over her ever since she got back from Holiday break. Sirius has been silently furious at Coco's family, knowing how it feels and not wanting to make a big deal out of it. Sirius understood Coco more when it came to this.

"Reckon I should ask Kathy how she brewed her potion, and try it on Lily?" James joked.

Coco slid an arm around him.

"She'll come around. She got you a scarf for Christmas, remember?" Coco comforted. Suddenly, Sirius's face lit up with an idea.

"I know how we get the potion on Remus. We haven't thrown a party with all that alcohol from Christmas yet, so we do that, we invite him, and give him it as a shot." He said. The rest all excitingly agreed.

"What if the party were tonight. How last minute do you think I can throw one?" James asked the group.

"You're the king of parties in Hogwarts, you can tell one person about a party and the whole school will show up." Peter responded.

"Well lunch is coming up..." James began.

Coco stood up and grabbed her friends hands, dragging them up from their sitting positions.

"What would I do without you guys?" Coco beamed at her friends as they set off towards the great hall.

"Well you'd die without me." James commented.