.................................................
Remus was let go after Severus ruined the Slytherins' surprise. The pinned down Gryffindor had heard shouted spells and saw blasts on both sides. Remus just hoped the Gryffindors hit the Slytherins as much as they hit them.
As soon as he was released, his captor rushing off with a grumbled threat of 'you better keep your mouth shut,' he struggled to his feet. It took a while, and it was only thanks to the support structures that Remus was able to stand upright.
Once he had his balance it was harder to ignore his pain. But he was used to pain. So he dusted himself off, wincing and inhaling sharply as his hand brushed his rib cage. Realizing this wasn't working well, he used magic to clean himself up instead. Pleased with the results, and that the Slytherins had actually given his wand back unharmed, Remus knew he'd have to go to Madam Pomfrey. The trick was not letting his friends know.
He braced himself, scolding himself again for getting into such ridiculous positions. But in some terrible way, this had been a good thing. Now he was certain that it was the Slytherins that caused his tumble off the tower. He just wasn't sure how.
Peeking through the flap, where he had glimpsed poor Lily being forced by her friend towards James who looked both abashed and pleased, Remus saw the aftermath of the attack. It had ended pretty quickly, and he hoped that Sirius would never let James let down the kiss, and they could just forget what the Slytherins did. Remus sighed heavily, a mistake on his part, and walked into the blazing sun.
"Remus!" Peter shouted, rushing over to him and breathing heavily from the exertion.
"Peter, are you alright?" His friend caught up to Remus, from where it appeared Peter had been hiding behind one of the goalposts. Peter's hair was ruffled, robes disheveled, and he was a bit dirty from when he had fallen during his hasty retreat. Otherwise, he was unharmed.
James, oh poor James, was a different story.
"That's him up there isn't it?" Remus asked, trying to see but the bright sunlight made his head and eyes throb in protest, so he quickly looked away.
"Yeah. One of the blasted Slytherins did it and no one can figure out how to get him down. Where were you hiding?" Peter asked innocently enough, scanning the field as if trying to find Remus' brilliant hiding spot. It was a fair assumption, as Remus no doubt looked better than most as he had 'Scourgified' his robes, now knowing how useful that spell could be.
Remus wanted to tell Peter that he hadn't been hiding, that he never would have hidden, but knew that would make his friend who had hid feel bad. However, it was not like Peter was the only one who hid. A few of the younger students had come out of the ordeal unscathed, but were pink-faced at their natural reaction to perceived danger. But they, unlike Peter, didn't look proud of the fact.
"Peter." Remus was going to explain to him, gently as possible, that Peter shouldn't point out that he had hidden during the altercation. It was understandable that Peter hid, but the older students might be upset if they knew. But before Remus could get a word out, Sirius rushed over to him looking ready to launch himself at Remus. Not at all wanting this, nor able to handle such contact, Remus quickly sidestepped using Peter as a human shield.
"I'm not mad, honestly. Just glad you didn't get hexed." Sirius encouraged, his hands raised as if Remus may try to run. Glad Sirius mistook his gesture, but didn't seem offended, he nodded slightly.
"You aren't hurt either? Who is hurt?" Remus asked, full of concern for his house mates.
"Well, James's pride was hurt and he might be hurt if we don't get him down soon," Sirius explained, glancing worriedly up where James still hung upside down.
"All the blood will rush to his head. Has someone gone to fetch Madam Pomfrey?" Remus asked, looking around for sight of her.
"Yeah, Lily and Dorcas. They should be back any minute," Sirius explained.
"Those Slytherins are...are just terrible!" Peter exclaimed, both him and Sirius gazing up at James with nearly identical scowls of worry.
"You two stay here. I'm going to fly back up to James again and let him know I found Remus," Sirius decided.
"And me," Peter interjected quietly, but Sirius was already rushing off. Remus could tell Peter felt hurt, his lip quivering slightly, so he quickly changed the subject.
"What does he mean 'again?'" Remus asked curiously. Peter looked up at him with a look that suggested he knew what Remus was doing. For a second, he thought Peter was going to confront him, demanding why the other two were only worried about Remus getting hurt. Then the boy sighed and looked back up at James with his flexible neck that was currently functioning right, unlike Remus.'
"Well, he was hanging upside down so his...well his robes were hanging over his head and...well it was humiliating, so Sirius flew up and did something so his robes didn't fall," Peter mumbled clearly still pouting.
"Please tell me James was at least wearing underwear," Remus groaned with mock horror, glad that Peter laughed at his comment, looking like he was feeling better now.
"Yeah, bet he's really glad he didn't go commando today, considering he didn't know we'd be playing Quidditch." Peter laughed. Remus smiled in return but didn't dare laugh, knowing the pain it would undoubtedly cause him.
Finally, Madam Pomfrey bustled into the Quidditch pitch, took one look at James, then called for the Headmaster. She loudly shouted "Albus" at the top of her lungs.
Before Remus realized what he was doing he was getting closer. He hadn't seen Dumbledore in a while and he still was worried he was mad at him.
Crack!
Then Dumbledore was there, about to ask Madam Pomfrey what the matter was when James let out a strangled shout, clearly getting really dizzy.
"Oh my! Well, you do seem to be in quite a pickle, Mr. Potter. Don't worry, we'll get you down in a jiffy. Oh, and happy birthday, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore responded mildly and cheerfully, giving James a little wave.
"Get me down!" James called, swinging himself around while his feet remained unmoving. Remus watched as Dumbledore pondered the situation, rolled up his sleeves, and waved his wand once, causing James to plummet with a high pitch scream, then twice, to slow his descent.
"I assure you all that this will be looked into. All those who aren't injured or helping someone who is should return to the common room. Run along now, pip pip."
Remus watched Dumbledore look at all the students, except for him. He was sure he wasn't crazy. The headmaster wasn't meeting his eye! He swallowed his disappointment, knowing he had no right to expect anything more. Dumbledore was letting him stay, that was enough for Remus, it had to be.
Dumbledore turned his attention to James, winking at the boy whose two feet were planted firmly on the grown and whose face was rather red.
"Quite the birthday, eh Mr. Potter? Your bravery at staying calm in a potentially dire situation will no doubt be the talk of the school," the headmaster pointed out kindly.
James went from looking miserable to looking delighted. Remus marvelled on how Dumbledore sure knew how to experly spin situations to fit his needs and how successfully the headmaster saved the day for James.
"Are you alright?" Remus heard Madam Pomfrey ask from a little ways away. She had been steadily making her way through the crowd. Feeling ready to collapse, he turned his attention to her, forcing himself to stay standing. Though now that he knew everyone was safe, it was much more difficult to do so.
Madam Pomfrey was thoroughly making her rounds to those who hadn't made a move to leave. She sent students back to their dorm rooms that were fine but stayed to help carry those who weren't up to the hospital wing with the injured students. She stopped briefly by Remus, scrutinizing him closely as he hadn't made to leave either. With all eyes on Dumbledore and James, she stepped closer.
"You alright, dear?" She asked him in a hushed voice. Remus wanted to say no, but Peter was right by his side, and thinking Pomfrey was talking to him, he shook his head.
"I got all scraped and hit my head," Peter whined.
"Then up you go, Mr. Pettigrew. Remus dear, why don't you take him," The brilliant matron suggested wisely.
Remus nodded slightly, giving Madam Pomfrey a relieved look. He wasn't sure how she knew he was hurt, maybe in the way he was standing. But she knew and was being subtle as always. He appreciated her so much and slowly started walking with Peter who was showing him a scrape on his arm, speaking loudly how a spell nearly nicked him.
"Nicked you? I saw you run off as soon as it started," scoffed Sirius, rushing towards them with James at his side. The birthday boy was still a bit embarrassed but otherwise fine.
"So did Remus!" Peter protested going red in the face. "I wasn't the only one!"
"Well, Remus was gone beforehand. I didn't run and I stayed calm, despite dangling so high in the air." James bragged with a cocky gleam in his eye.
Sirius scoffed, no doubt about to point out James didn't get a chance to run. Remus shot him a look and thankfully his competitive friend closed his mouth. It was James' birthday tomorrow, after all.
"Yeah, you sure were," Peter responded instead, eyes gleaming with admiration. "I would have been screaming but you hardly did."
"Oh please, you would have pissed yourself, Pettigrew," Sirius laughed, still rather cruelly picking on Peter.
"Like you wouldn't be screaming, Black." James retorted, coming to Peter's defense who looked most pleased by this. Sirius blushed slightly and shrugged, shooting a look at Remus. "Well, I bet Remus would have stayed calmer than you did," Sirius goaded, clearly wanting to start a fight.
"Not if I was dangling from my feet like that in front of everyone," Remus responded quickly. James laughed, beaming in his victory.
Remus watched the emotions pass through Sirius' face. The Black seemed to be bothered by something though it was unclear what. Remus could tell that Sirius wanted to ask where he had gone before the attack. In fact, Remus could see his friend practically vibrate with curiosity at the matter, though he was doing his best to restrain himself. But Sirius wasn't the only one curious, and after bragging all the way to the castle James finally stopped and looked at Remus.
"Where did you go? I thought you'd stay the whole time. I mean, we're mates," James whined, giving Remus an accusing look that Sirius quickly mirrored.
"I just needed to use the loo," Remus muttered in embarrassment and they all laughed at him. The friendly relieved sort of laughter made him realize just how worried they had been. The liar swallowed down his guilt. If he told them what had happened, he had no doubt Sirius would stalk off to confront his cousin and would suffer the consequences.
"You could have said something!" Sirius exclaimed in indignation.
"And have one of you follow me there? Not a chance," Remus teased. Sirius looked worried and sad, for a second wondering if Remus was still upset at him. Then he realized Remus was grinning mischievously and rolled his eyes, a smile spreading across his face.
"Well, you missed the best part of the day, mate," Sirius laughed, giving James a grin that made him go red.
"Oi! Shut it, Black," James warned playfully.
"Make me, Potter!" Then the two rambunctious boys were running through the hall, James chasing Sirius with mock outrage.
"Come on, Peter. I'll take you to the hospital wing," Remus offered, shaking his head the miniscule he could without it hurting in exasperation at his friends.
"No, that's ok. James and Sirius would laugh if I went now," Peter mumbled, tugging his sleeves back down.
"But you're bleeding," Remus protested, mainly because he needed an excuse to go visit the matron.
"I got bandages in my trunk. I can handle it myself." Then Peter grinned. "Besides, I want to hear what James has to say for himself about getting kissed by Lily! His face got so red it was brilliant! Guess girls really do still have cooties." Peter sounded so relieved that Remus decided not to point out that James' red face might mean the opposite.
"Oh well. I'll hear the story later. I'm going to check on Lily. I'll catch up with you three later." He assured Peter, who shrugged and ran off to catch up to the other two.
Remus quickly slipped away, making a b-line for the hospital wing.
.................................................
"Sev, please tell me you weren't involved with this!" Remus heard Lily plead. Remus stopped just short of turning the corner, leading to the hall outside the hospital wing.
"I already told you, Lily, I didn't! Don't you believe me?" Severus snapped, sounding really defensive.
"Of course I do, I just had to be sure. Oh, Severus, the party was ridiculous and I had to..." She trailed off, no doubt remembering having to kiss James' cheek.
"What? What did you have to do?" Severus asked, and knowing he was there Remus could hear the slight edge to his voice.
"Nothing...just never mind! It....it was just a dreadfully boring party." Lily lied quickly, a hint of nervousness in her tone. Remus could just picture Severus seething in jealousy, irritated Lily wasn't telling him the truth. He sighed and rounded the corner just as Severus opened his mouth to say something that probably would have led to an argument between the two.
Bracing himself for Severus' reaction, which was immediate and expected, he stood awkwardly near them. Severus' eyes had widened and he had paled considerably, no doubt wondering the same thing Remus was. Was he going to tell Lily?
Remus considered it, felt he would be justified, too. But Severus was looking at him pleadingly again. So, even though Remus was hurting a lot due to the Slytherins' actions, he figured he best listen to what Severus' explanation was before outing him to Lily. After all, Lily was one of the boy's few if not only real friends. Remus knew how lonely and dreadful it was not to have any.
"Remus, there you are! Sirius couldn't find you and he was getting all bossy," Lily huffed after a few seconds of awkward silence, in which she watched Severus' puzzling expression before she turned around to see the cause of it. As soon as she had turned and realized Remus was there though, she had looked very relieved to see him alright. At least outwardly alright.
"You didn't get hurt, did you?" Remus asked, trying to assess himself if she was okay or not. He knew most of the first and second years had been freaked out by the whole thing. None of them had any dueling practice, not formal anyways.
"Of course she didn't!" Severus snapped, the sharp edge to his tone and piercing glare making it sound like Remus had just personally accused him of murder. Lily gave Severus a weird look who went pink quickly, dropping the harsh look he was shooting at Remus. "I just...I mean, you would have told me if you did...right?"
Lily scrutinized the guilty-looking boy a bit longer, then turned to Remus with a frown. "Of course, Sev. But no, I wasn't hurt. It certainly was quite a fright though. Everyone's saying it's Slytherins, that there's a group of them that serve the terrible person supposedly behind all the muggle killings?"
"Just rumors, Lily," Severus responded, this time careful to remain calm. Remus remembered what he had heard about things to come and shuddered.
"Well even if they are, they are simply dreadful ones!" Remus nodded, the gesture sending a sharp stab through his neck and reminding him of needing to get to the hospital wing before Madam Pomfrey hunted him down. "Well, I need to go check on Frank who is in the hospital wing, so I'll see you later?" Remus offered. knowing it was a lame excuse because he certainly wasn't close to Frank, not anywhere near enough to pay him a visit. But Lily didn't seem to notice.
"Oh, I'll come too! I want to check on Emma. Don't look at me like that, Sev. She's the nicest third year I know, even if she can be a bit wonky."
Remus didn't really know Emma nor did he care to. He wanted to groan in frustration at the fact that one of the few times when he was actually going to ask Madam Pomfrey for help it seemed less and less likely he'd be able to.
"You can check on her later, Lily. Let's go study," Severus demanded. Remus was surprised, realizing after a moment that Severus was either trying to save himself from Lily finding out Remus was hurt or help Remus out which seemed much less likely and yet he had a feeling that was indeed what the Slytherin was doing. He watched Lily hesitate, then invite him to join them after and head off with Severus.
With no other distractions, Remus made it to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey scolded him severely for getting messed up in this, ignoring his faint protests that all Gryffindor's had been there. She just pierced him with her stare and he suspected she somehow knew that, as was becoming a rather unfortunate pattern, Remus was once again undoubtedly in the middle of this drama.
"Now you lay down for a few hours. That's right, young man, hours, not minutes. No complaints, you've got a fractured rib. Now lay down. That's a good lad."
Remus just hoped his friends would be too distracted with exams and spring break to notice his disappearance. But of course, he knew deep down that wasn't going to happen.