Poetry, Evans
James woke to find he was lying in the hospital wing by himself. Madam Pomfrey was by her desk, mixing a potion for him and came rushing over as he sat himself up, glancing toward the window with anxiousness. "Who won? Did we lose?"
"The match has been rescheduled," she replied. Madam Pomfrey leaned over and pressed her palm to James's face, her hand cool against his skin as she patted first his cheeks and then his forehead. "Burning up. Should've come to me first thing this morning... Trying to play quidditch with a fever! I never." She shook her head and pulled a large bottle of red potion out of her deep apron pocket and poured a helping of it into a small shot glass that she put on the table beside him along with two pills and a blue vial of sleeping draught. "Here you are. Those will --" She paused as the door to the ward creaked open behind her. "Yes? Who's there?" She leaned to see, but there didn't appear to be a soul there. "Peeves, if that's you -- I'll tell the Bloody Baron you were messing about in here again and he'll have your head!" She paused.
When no further noises followed, she turned back to James. "Those will help and get you the rest you need. I've seen far too much of you and your little friends in here this month already... Bad month for the Marauders, January's been! Regrowing bones, patching together skin, falling, feverish from broomsticks..." she shook her head, and waved her wand, producing a small glass of water beside the pills.
James reached first for the red potion, knocking it back into his throat. It was hot and he could feel it burning all the way down his throat and stomach. It hurt going down but once it passed, the inside of his throat felt less raw, as though the heat was coating and healing it as it went. When James reached over for the pills, his hand hit something solid, though there didn't appear to be anything there. He paused, then reached out to feel what he'd hit, but his hand sliced through the air without hitting anything that time. He grabbed the pills, water, and draught and within minutes he was asleep once again.
Madam Pomfrey returned and took the empty glass and vial, tucked James in again beneath the blankets carefully, and put his glasses onto the nightstand before waving her wand to close the blinds that covered the windows and closed the ward behind her as she went to her desk to work.
There was a long pause as the ward got quiet and dark and then...
"Lumos."
Sirius tugged the invisibility cloak off and glanced over his shoulder at the ward doors, making sure Pomfrey wasn't coming. "It's clear," he said to the space behind him. A moment later and Remus pulled the cloak over his head as well. He folded it neatly over his arm and glanced back at the ward doors.
Sirius turned to look at James again and pulled the stool up, leaning over to get a good look at his friend.
"He's asleep, you'll have to talk to him later."
"I'm not here to talk to him... I'm not speaking with him, remember?" Sirius said, making a face at Remus. "I just want to make sure that idiot Hufflepunk didn't hurt him with all those stupid muscley biceps of his." Sirius leaned over the bed, looking James's face over for a moment.
"Oh so you're noticing Jasper Odair's muscles, are you?" Remus asked, raising his eyebrows at Sirius in mock jealousy.
"You'd be blind not to," Sirius said, and he poked at the fleshy bit of James's cheek to be sure it was still squashy, and lifted one arm up to flop his hand about. He nodded in approval, "Alright, everything's in order, I reckon he's going to live. Let's go."
"That's it?" Remus asked, blinking in surprise. "For real? All the work it took to sneak in here we've done for you to flap about an arm and call it quits?"
"I just needed to see that he's still James is all," Sirius replied. "That he isn't killed."
"Well of course he's not killed," Remus said, rolling his eyes.
Sirius shrugged, "I just had to see it with my own eyes is all. Let's go."
Remus sighed and held up the invisibility cloak for Sirius, tugging it 'round his own shoulders. "This is absolutely mindless, you know. We should stay 'til he wakes up and you ought to --" Remus stopped himself, he'd been about to say apologize to him, but he knew if he said it Sirius would get right angry. After all, in Sirius's mind - and perhaps in reality, Remus was still uncertain - it was Jame that ought to be apologizing to him for being a prat, not the other way around (Remus seriously suspected it was Sirius that ought to do though). He looked at Sirius with a pleading expression.
Sirius shook his head, "No. I've got Remedial Potions tonight anyway, remember? With Evans?" he looked at a clock on the mantel. "I'm late for that already."
Remus glanced at James in the bed. "I may stay with him then, if you don't mind. In case he wakes up, so he isn't alone."
Sirius stared at Remus for several long moments.
"It's horrid waking up alone in a hospital," Remus said knowledgeably. "Just 'til you're out of Potions, then you can come and fetch me." He held out the cloak. "Here. You can even take this."
Sirius took the cloak carefully. "Alright, I s'pose you're right, Moony."
"I'm always right," Remus smiled.
"And you promise you'll come back to the dorm with me later?" he asked.
Remus nodded. "Cross my heart, Padfoot."
"Alright." Sirius swung the cloak 'round his shoulders then and he drew a deep breath and with one last fleeting glance at James, he tucked under and disappeared. "Love you, Moonykins," said the air.
"And I love you, too, you mangy thing. Now go to Potions before you end up in trouble with Evans," Remus said quietly.
Lily stood in the entrance hall with Jasper Odair, waiting for Sirius to arrive so the pair of them could go down to the dungeons for the Remedial Potions lessons. She had her arms 'round his neck, leaning against the stone wall by the dungeons stair, her fingers playing with the hair 'round the back of his neck, staring up into his dark eyes. "You're sooo brave," she said, smiling at him, her eyes twinkling, "Saving James Potter like that."
Jasper blushed, "Nawh, just... you know... I helped where I could is all. I like James alright. Been a bit nutter lately, but usually he's an alright bloke. I could tell he wasn't feeling too well, honestly, even at breakfast. He shouldn't have tried on playing like that."
"No he shouldn't, I agree. But James is far too egotistical to ever have admitted there was something that might hinder his bloody quidditch kinns," she rolled her eyes. "I swear that boy and his damned pride! Lucky he can fit his big head through a door, really." Lily smiled, "You know, that's one of the things I like best about you."
Jasper smirked, "That I can fit my head through a door?"
"No," she laughed, "Just that you're every ounce as good a player, captain, and person as James Potter thinks he is and you're humble just the same."
Jasper kissed her forehead firmly and smiled back. "Maybe I'm just quieter about my ridiculous ego."
Lily laughed, "Maybe. Are you secretly quite full of yourself, Mr. Odair?"
"Who else would I be full of?" his eyes twinkled, "Last I checked my innards were entirely made out of me." He pressed one palm to the wall and leaned in slowly, intending to kiss her lips when suddenly --
"That was a rather brilliant joke, mate, I'll be having to remember it for the future," Sirius Black came 'round the corner from the stairs, carrying his cauldron, his Potions textbook set inside, sticking out, looking rather ragged 'round the edges. Sirius was still wearing that blasted If Lost Please Return to Remus Lupin t-shirt (though Remus had managed to sneak it out one night and washed it himself in the sink in the prefect's toilet), and his hair, though cleaned, still hadn't been properly cared for.
"Hullo Sirius," Lily said, dropping her arms from Jasper's neck as Sirius approached, "I see you brought along your cauldron."
Sirius looked down at it, "Is that what this is? Blimey and here I was, thinking it was a very heavy bookbag." He looked at Jasper. "Alright, Odair?"
"I'm alright."
"Great save on the pitch today."
Jasper shrugged. "Do what I can."
"With a skill set like yours, ought to be a seeker, mate," Sirius joked. He smirked and punched Jasper playfully on the shoulder.
Jasper laughed, then looked to Lily, "Well. Good luck. I'll come back to walk you to your dorm."
"You don't have to, I'll be with Sirius," she pointed out, "I'll see you tomorrow."
Jasper nodded, looking disappointed, "Alright." He looked at Sirius and nodded, "See you 'round then, Black."
"Ta-ta," Sirius waved with just his fingertips as Jasper went on up the stairs alone and he turned back to Lily. "Lead the way, oh wise one."
Lily gave him a steady stare for some time, then nodded toward the dungeon stairs, "You're going to take this serio--" she stopped herself as Sirius looked at her with his eyebrows slightly raised, and changed her choice of wording, "You aren't going to make this a joke?"
"Of course not. Potions isn't a thing to take lightly."
"It really isn't, actually," Lily replied sternly. "Potions are quite powerful... It's a subtle science, an exact art... there's beauty in the shimmer of a simmering cauldron's fumes... you can bottle fame, and brew glory... you can even put a stopper on death." She looked up at him as she led the way down the dungeon stairs.
Sirius looked impressed, "Poetry, Evans."
She laughed, "I don't know about poetry..."
"Well you made me more excited about Potions in three sentences than Slughorn's done in five years," he said.
Lily turned the final corner of the stairwell and found Severus Snape standing in the shadow there, his back pressed to the wall. He looked up at her as she stopped on the very last step and stared into his eyes. "What were you doing there?" she asked in surprise.
"I was just... on my way... somewhere," he stammered.
Lily looked over her shoulder, then back to Severus, "Were you spying on me? On me and Jasper?"
"He's thinking very... inappropriate things... about you, Lily," Severus warned, looking desperately at her.
Lily glowered. "You were looking in his mind?"
Sirius suddenly swung 'round the corner again, "Looking in his mind?" he said, scoffing, smirking over Lily's head at Severus Snape, whose eyes moved up to Sirius's face and his mouth curved lowly into a sneer.
Severus looked back at Lily. "It appears you're busy. We'll talk later about... your boyfriend," and with that, Severus turned and hurried away.
Lily stewed, staring after him, "Ugh."
Sirius asked, "So it's true, then?"
"What's true then?" Lily demanded, and she took Sirius's cauldron from him, and stormed along down the hall, headed for the Potions classroom.
"He can read minds."
Lily stopped. They were standing on the stairs to the Potions classroom. "Where did you hear that?"
"I overheard Regulus telling someone about it," Sirius replied.
Lily stared at him, "Your brother?"
"No it was one of the other Reguluses," Sirius answered, rolling his eyes, "Yes my brother."
Lily looked concerned, "Who was Regulus telling that to? And why?"
"Is it some sort of secret?" Sirius laughed, avoiding answering the question.
"I mean, it's supposed to be, Severus didn't want anyone to know," Lily answered, "But it sounds like your brother's just telling people willy nilly about the school."
Sirius shrugged.
Lily frowned.
And around the corner, Severus Snape was still listening, his back pressed to the wall in the shadows once more, his eyes closed, shifting through Sirius Black's mind... confused by how many memories appeared to be seen in black and white, and included a dog that looked vaguely familiar, as though he might've seen it before somewhere...