Of course James, Sirius, and Peter all wanted to know where Remus had been the night before. They assumed he had stayed in the hospital wing for a relapse, and he just said he had gone to the hospital wing for the better part of the evening--not telling them exactly why. When Lily sat with him at breakfast he was worried she'd bring it up however she thankfully didn't.
His mother sent him a dozen double chocolate cookies for his birthday which he split up with everyone despite their protests that they were for his birthday (they reluctantly each accepted one, and only one). He made a point of giving a cookie to Lily, to show any hard feelings from the night before were gone.
Then all four of his friends let him know they got him something which made him go brilliantly red. The boys didn't have their presents with them but Lily handed him a small wrapped gift which he knew as soon as he took it that it'd be a book. She said to go ahead and open it so he did, and it was the sequel to the book she had sent him for Christmas.
"Thank you so much!" he said, and the two of them hugged, Remus ignoring the sniggers from the boys. Even after all this time they had to be immature about Remus being such good friends with a girl.
Classes went pretty well except after lunch when they were heading to Defense, a group of Slytherins pushed past them. Snape banged into Remus and whispered very softly, "Did you enjoy the cure for your stutter?" before sweeping off. Remus grit his teeth, wanting to shoot a hex at him.
"Did he say something to you?" James asked as they started walking again.
"Just insults," sighed Remus, adjusting the strap of his book satchel. "He's a git. We should do something to him." The words tumbled out before he could even think about them, then regretted it instantly.
"Yes!" James exclaimed, then immediately began plotting with Sirius and Peter, while Remus drifted off into the clouds.
What curse did he use? Remus wondered, struggling to remember the syllables that had been said. The second part had definitely been 'lock'. He'd have to do some research. He doubted he'd be able to easily find a spell just by part of the word, but narrowing it down to the effect would make it a lot quicker. My tongue got stuck to the roof of my mouth. He reached up, rubbing his throat a little. I don't know many tongue-related spells. Mimblewimble, but that's completely different.
After they left class, Remus started to split off from his friends intending to go to the library but Sirius seized hold of his arm. "Where you going? Don't you want your presents?"
Remus smiled. "Of c-course, yeah, sorry I--forgot."
"Forgot presents?" James eyed him suspiciously.
"I'm n--not used to people getting me things," he said, hoping that would be enough of an answer. It seemed to work because James linked his arm with Remus's and marched off, very excited to see Remus open his presents.
They weren't anything big (well, except for James's), but they were still very thoughtful gifts. Candy from Peter, a mug from Sirius with books printed on it (and enchanted not to break which he showed off by taking it and chucking it as hard as he could against the wall; it just bounced off. Sirius had given a mug for Peter's birthday and it had been broken by February so Remus figured that's why his was enchanted), and finally from James (who couldn't contain his excitement anymore; he just bounced around demanding Remus open his present last): Quidditch Through The Ages.
"Now you can know all about it when you come to the games!" James said the second the title came into view.
"Thank you," Remus said, smiling broadly. He didn't have any interest in Quidditch but it was a very nice gift. He would read it regardless of his feelings for the sport. He intended to learn about Quidditch over the summer to prepare for James being on the team, now at least he had a book and wouldn't have to buy one himself. "I'm n--not going to the game tomorrow though."
"But it's against Slytherin!" James whined. "Out of all the games, that's the one you gotta go to!"
"It'll be fun!" Peter said. "You should at least give it a chance."
"I'll be going to all of James's games," Remus reminded them. "I promise." Except the ones coinciding with the full moon.
"I love how all of you just know I'm gonna be on the team." James reclined on his bed, a smug smile spreading. "I mean, I will be but I love that you guys know it too."
Luckily that dropped them wheedling Remus about the game. He figured he should go at least to that game--the big one--but at the same time being completely alone in the library again was too tempting. Remus put away all his gifts (thanking them once more) then got sucked into their plotting about what to do about Snape once more. Remus looked around at his three friends then couldn't help but ask, "If I said Snape did something to me, would you believe it?"
They fell silent, three pairs of eyes focusing on their tiny little friend. Sirius spoke first. "Did Snape do something?" He sounded furious.
"Um, I--w-was just w-w-wondering..."
"Of course we would, why wouldn't we?" Pete inquired.
"Did he though?" James asked, on Sirius's line of thought. "Is that why you want to get back at him? Cause if it is, we need something worse than just firecrackers filled with itching powder."
"Way worse," agreed Sirius.
"Well--it d-doesn't matter, really, I was just curious."
Sirius got up, moving to sit next to Remus on the edge of his bed. "If Snape did something to you, you can tell us."
Shouldn't have said anything! "He hexed me. Got away with it, too."
"Git!" James jumped to his feet, going for his wand like he wanted revenge right there and then without Snape being anywhere in the vicinity. "What did he do? How did he get away with it? Didn't you do anything back?"
Remus explained everything except for the Lily stuff--that would never be spoken to them. They all looked angry enough as it was, all of them wanting more revenge, something bigger. Remus told them in detail what the spell did but none of them had heard of it before. They figured if Remus hadn't, it was really obscure (which flattered him more than anything that they considered him so smart). They agreed to go to the library so off they went, not just to find the spell Snape used but also one to really get back at him.
"Something big," James said as they went. "Really big."
"As big as his nose?" Sirius asked, causing the others to laugh.
"Is anything that big?" Pete added, causing more laughter.
They only spent about half an hour in the library until James and Sirius grew very bored. Not even looking up cool hexes and jinxes satisfied them, so soon they all left. Remus hadn't found any information on the spell Snape had used. The closest was the tongue-tying spell but mimblewimble was a far cry from something-lock plus his tongue had been connected to the roof of his mouth not tied in a knot! He did find a spell that made the tongue lengthen considerably and thought that'd be a fun prank. There was also one made you stick your tongue out until the spell was lifted.
"You know what would be fun?" Sirius asked as they meandered aimlessly through the school. "A spell that makes the tongue roll up then unfurl like one of those party favors."
"With the noise too!" James laughed, giving his friend a high five.
Both boys turned to grin at Remus who sighed. "I highly doubt a spell like that exists..." Now they were giving him puppy dog eyes. "...but I suppose I could try and... figure something out..."
Sirius clapped his hands. "Brains!"
He had twisted the bogey hex to form something else. Was it possible for him to come up with a new spell altogether? It seems difficult, he thought as he walked, barely noticing where he he put his feet. It'll need to be physical as well as audible--if I include the noise which, frankly, it would be funnier with the noise, all right so what would be the best etymology for something like this? I'll need to research other tongue-related spells, audible spell-- A hand clamped around his arm--right over his scar--and yanked. He gasped loudly, a stab of fear going through him as he tried to pull free, the fingers right over his scars, pressing in, touching the wolfish teeth marks through the fabric.
"Whoa!" Sirius said as Remus panicked loudly. "Sorry. Was just trying to stop you from going down the stairs."
Remus blinked, realizing he stood at the top of a flight of stairs. He had nearly gone tumbling down. Sirius hadn't grabbed the scar because he knew it was there, he grabbed it just to try and rescue Remus from a painful fall. "Th-thanks. Sorry, just--lost in my thoughts."
Sirius slowly let go. "Just as long as you're all right. Glad I had my eye on you!"
Do you often have your eye on me? Remus wanted to ask. It had been a couple weeks since Fawley mentioned the fact Sirius watched him, however it seemed like there was usually more important things on his mind. Which was, really, stupid; he was a werewolf, he needed to be extremely cautious of this sort of thing (he had promised Fawley he would be!). Just because they're my friends doesn't mean I can trust them. I can't. At all. I need to stop pretending that I can.
The barriers that hurt him for existing were important, and needed to stay up.
He still felt Sirius's fingers against his scar. Had he noticed? The ribbed marks? Remus wore the long-sleeved top and the jumper and the robes of the uniform so hopefully there had been way too much fabric for the other boy to notice anything amiss about his arm.
*
The Big Game had finally arrived. Everyone was very keyed up, and the Great Hall was a flood of Gold and Scarlet. Not just the Gryffindor table, but there were plenty of students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff who were showing their support for Gryffindor. Remus purposely wore neutral colors of blue jeans and a brown jumper, and when he sat down at breakfast he thought he was the only Gryffindor not dressed up.
"I should pretend not to know you," sighed James, looking down his nose at Remus. "It's a shame, you not coming to this game!" Remus just put food on his plate, ignoring his friend. "Don't you feel embarrassed?"
"Nope."
"Well. You should."
When Lily came in she hurried over, shoving James out of the way so she could sit down next to Remus. "How come you're not all dressed up?" she asked. She had paired a gold jumper over red skirt, and had gold ribbons woven into her braids.
"He's not going," James said as he wedged himself in next to Lily. "Is there a reason you always push me off my seat? Also, congratulations on supporting your own house. I'd have thought you'd support Slytherin."
Lily shot him a dark look. "Why is that?"
"Your friend." James eyed the Slytherin table where Snape sat, wearing green. Snape sensed he was being watched and looked up, glowering at James. James stuck his tongue out then turned back to Lily. "Good to see you've got some house pride."
"For goodness sake! I have friends in other houses, big whoop." Lily rolled her eyes. "Doesn't mean I'm not going to support Gryffindor." She looked at Snape, exchanging a smile with him. "So yeah just because you're narrow-minded, Potter, doesn't mean everyone is. Remus, if you come to game feel free to sit with me." She gave him a smile too then went to go sit with Colgate and Inkwood.
James scootched closer to Remus. "She's so annoying."
At least they were back to normal. Remus still felt hurt she had automatically dismissed his side of the story but that wasn't important enough to sever ties with one of his only friends. The hurt would eventually go away. Right?
Half an hour before the game started people began to leave, James, Sirius, and Peter included. They requested Remus to come with them one last time before disappearing through the doors. Remus stayed in the Great Hall until it was nearly empty, then went up to the common room. He loved being there when no one else was, especially in the middle of the day. He relished in the ability to sit in the comfiest couch near the fire to read for quite a long time until noise brought him out of the text. He checked the clock: just after three pm.
Remus shut the book with a snap, rising to his feet as the portrait swung open. The cheers were so loud he had to cover his ears as he went to the stairs, though he didn't go all the way up. He sat down partway up to watch the throng. The Quidditch team led the party, with a small girl that Remus assumed to be the Seeker hoisted onto the shoulders of two other team members. Sure enough she had a Snitch in one hand, waving it proudly. She also had blood streaming from her nose. She must have made quite an impressive catch.
He waited until he saw his friends before going up to his dorm, hiding under his bed with a pillow wrapped around his head. He knew the party for this victory would last longer than the previous, probably louder too. Soon music began booming--Remus even heard some firecrackers going off which he attributed to James and Sirius. Indeed, a few moments later the dorm door opened and the two of them came in to get more.
Sirius checked under Remus's bed first. "We won!" he said brightly.
Remus smiled back. "So I heard. Congratulations."
James dropped to his knees to peek. "You should come celebrate with us since you won't come to the game. It was brilliant!" He lay down on his stomach, a bunch of rockets in his arms. "We only won by a little bit. It was so close! It literally came down to who could catch the Snitch, we were neck in neck the whole time! One side scored the other side scored--it was wild! Once I'm on the team, of course, we'll always be ahead. Bell was so brilliant though, man she did a--"
"You want company?" Sirius asked, cutting off James's blathering.
"N-no that's okay, you can go have fun," Remus answered.
However twenty minutes later Peter came up, rather grouchy since James was glued to the Quidditch team and Sirius was having too much fun partying to talk to him. He lay down on the floor next to Remus's bed, apparently not finding it weird to have a conversation like this. He told Remus a bit about the game; he may not have cared about the sport but his friends did so he listened intently, asking questions that hopefully weren't too stupid. Peter seemed really pleased to be able to tell him all of this and when into even greater detail about the game.
*
Revenge against Snape was unanimously put on hold until later due to them being too excited for their Bogey Prank. They wanted to focus on that, plus avoid trouble in case they got caught which none of them expected to. Remus had seen the nook they planned on hiding out in: it was decently out of sight of the Potions classroom, and the other end held the entrance to a secret passage which wasn't really secret, a lot of students seemed to know about it; but it gave them an exit.
They did a run through on Sunday afternoon. The four of them hid in the nook for a bit then hurried out through the passage, emerging on the other side of the dungeons. Then they did a test with Sirius running from the Potions classroom to the other end of the secret passageway, to see if they could beat him: which they did. The likelihood of them getting caught was slim. Remus hoped they could get away with it. Honestly, in his opinion, the most likely reason they'd end up caught would be James bragging.
On Tuesday morning they were all very excited. It felt like they had been planning this for so long and finally it was here. James and Remus barely ate any breakfast though by the time lunch rolled around they were hungry enough to eat. They still had ages to wait since they were going to do it when class let out, so they could at least see their handiwork.
Time stretched on. They spent the time waiting in the Great Hall playing a few round of sphinxes which Peter won since he was the only one paying any sort of attention. James checked his watch about every five minutes until Sirius suggested he stop cause it seemed a little suspicious. Somehow they resisted the urge to go down early; Remus knew if they were seen hanging about it would be a tell, so they didn't head off until two-thirty. Fifteen minutes before the end of class, but that was in case Slughorn let it out early.
The four of them crowded at the edge of the nook, wands ready. Remus sweated a little already, heart pounding so hard he thought it might leap out of his throat. The other three were on edge too. James whispered when it was a couple minutes before the end of class. Remus could hear Slughorn wrapping up his lecture. Time to go.
Remus shot out the activation spell. The doorway glowed blue for a split second then faded. James and Sirius shot out the bogey hex. The doorway glowed again, then faded. It was all up to Remus now. His fingers tightened around the handle of his wand, eyes locked on the door. He could feel the pull of the spell, feel the connection. Would this work?
The door swung open and three Gryffindor boys came out. They kept walking and Remus was worried they had failed! But then the tall one gave a yelp as big winged bat-shaped bogeys crawled out of his nose. The other two had the same thing happen. More students started coming out, all of them shrieking and yelping and complaining. Loads of bat-bogeys flapped around the corridor, dive bombing their 'owners'. Still more students came out. James, Sirius, and Peter were stuffing their fists in their mouths to stop from laughing while sweat poured off of Remus. He had never held the spell this long. It was sapping him of his strength. But he knew there'd be more coming out. He had to push on.
"Yes!" Sirius whispered as a Slytherin emerged, giving an angry shout as bats came out of his nose, flying into him right away, one of them tangling in his long blonde hair leaving goopy trails. "Merlin, yes!" Sirius sounded very happy at this.
All the second year Gryffindors and Slytherins were running around. Some were trying to get rid of the spells but any time they opened their mouths they'd be attacked harder by their bats. Remus's arm began shaking but he grit his teeth, focusing harder.
"Someone--" one of the Slytherins started but had to stop when a great big one flew right into his mouth. Behind Remus, Peter gagged loudly, and James elbowed him.
"SLUGHORN!" a Gryffindor shouted, waving her arms around wildly. She was trying to make her way back to the door but there were so many students and so many bogey bats.
"What in Merlin's name is going on out here?!" Slughorn waddled out of the doorway and staggered as he was hexed too, and the bats coming out got caught in his big walrus mustache. James, Sirius, and Peter all wheezed, trying their best to keep quiet.
That was it.
Remus dropped his arm feeling as exhausted as if it were the full moon. He was incredibly dizzy, exhausted, soaked in sweat, unable to see properly, unable to breathe properly. Holding the spell that was way past the ability of someone his age had done a number on him in ways he hadn't foreseen. Sirius hissed out that they needed to go now, and he turned to run but only managed a few steps before everything went black.