Bless the Beasts and the Children - 3. Chapter 3

“How do you think you’ll do with your OWLs?” Lily asked as she reached for another pumpkin tart.

“Well, I think,” Remus replied cautiously. Although maybe he was being a little optimistic.

The Welcoming Feast was beginning to wind down. Many of the students, feeling the effects of the long train ride, coupled with enormous amounts of food, were starting to yawn. But no one was turning down the opportunity for one or more of the many delicious desserts with which the tables were laden. The Sorting Hat had sung, house assignments had been made, and the first day at Hogwarts was soon to end with everyone heading to their respective houses.

Lily turned her head and gave Remus a piercing glance. He squirmed uncomfortably and looked away. Lily sat to Remus’ right, Sirius on his left. James was on the other side of Sirius, with Peter next to him. James had done his best to appropriate a seat beside Lily, but she’d quickly positioned herself next to Remus, and her best friend, Alice Prewett, had staked a claim to her other side, so there was nothing for James to do but suck it up and live with it. Remus felt bad. He’d be upset if someone usurped his place beside Sirius, but he was helpless to fix the situation. Lily did what she wanted to do. And she had her own way of making James Potter toe the line. Too bad she couldn’t keep him from some of the dumb choices he and Sirius seemed determined to make.

“If I study hard, I’ll be fine,” he amended. Which was the truth. Remus studied damn hard, on a constant basis. He wasn’t stupid and he knew it, but he often felt that way alongside his best mates, James and Sirius, who seldom cracked a book if they could help it and managed to get top marks in everything. Remus didn’t know how they did it, and he was more than a little envious at how much they got away with. Then he would push such thoughts aside as being disloyal, and focus contritely on Sirius, who never knew why he received the extra attention, but basked in it nonetheless.

Well, it was mostly the truth. Remus was confident in most of his subjects, but he knew his potions work was shaky, at best.

“You can always get a tutor,” Lily astutely observed.

“I know,” Remus admitted. That thought had crossed Remus’ mind more than once over the long summer without Sirius, and he was actually considering asking for just such tutoring. Therein was where the trouble lay. Remus knew very well who the best potions tutor would be. He was brilliant in the subject, and had been ever since their first year at the school. The trouble was, not only was he a Slytherin, which alone was enough to damn him in Sirius’ eyes, but he was Sirius’ sworn enemy—none other than Severus Snape.

If Remus intended to have Severus tutor him—and he was very seriously considering the possibility—he had to be prepared to keep the knowledge from Sirius for the sake of all concerned. Sirius would be happier not knowing, and Remus wouldn’t have to worry about him starting anything with Severus, with the added bonus that Sirius would not be able to hate Remus for something he didn’t know about.

And wasn’t that just so much convoluted logic?

Remus had nothing against Snape, honestly. He wasn’t a bad bloke, maybe a bit surly and uncommunicative, but that wasn’t surprising considering he was often belittled and scorned by his fellow students. Under other circumstances, he and Remus might have been friends. But that was not an option, considering how Sirius felt about him, so Remus set aside what might have been in favor of what was, and told himself he wouldn’t be lying to Sirius, simply saving him from being upset.

“What’s all this talk about books and studying?” Sirius reached across Remus to snag a large piece of bread pudding, “accidentally” brushing his hand over Remus’. Remus tingled at his touch, careful not to react, or to respond since they were far from alone. “We just got here and you’re on about books already? Merlin, you two, give it a rest.”

“Give what a rest? Who do you mean?” James peered down the table toward Remus. If it wasn’t one, it was the other. Like peas in a pod, those two were. Remus noticed Lily turned her head with a disdainful sniff. He knew she was listening to every word, though.

“I mean we’ve barely got here and these two are on about books already. We should have some fun before we buckle down to study, don’t you think?”

As if you ever study, Remus thought, but he kept his opinion to himself. Remus never liked to rock the boat if he could help it, which meant he pretty well went along with whatever his friends chose to do, fearing to lose their friendship. Then Sirius’ words penetrated a little more, and the first glimmerings of panic began to set in. They’d only just arrived, and these two were thinking up a prank? Already? His heart began to race. Was this what people meant by a panic attack?

Just before he thought he might faint, he felt a grounding hand on his arm. He didn’t have to look to know it was Lily.

“Gentlemen, I must warn you as prefect that I will have my eye on you this year,” she said brusquely. “Both of us will,” she added, including Remus as being complicit in her plans. Naturally, he was prefect too, wasn’t he?

“And?” James challenged her, a little belligerently.

“And if you’re thinking about getting up to mischief, think twice. Then think twice more. Then just don’t do it. That plain enough?” She gently squeezed Remus’ arm before rising gracefully. Remus noticed students at the other tables were beginning to stand as well.

“Time to go upstairs,” he announced, trying to sound more confident then he felt. Lily’s words had helped, though. He gave Sirius a beseeching look, silently begging him to go along for once, and behave.

To his relief, Sirius chimed in with, “C’mon, let’s get up there before they give our beds away.” He winked at Remus, who mouthed a quick “Thank you.”

Crisis averted. At least for now. Once the four of them were in their dorm room, they’d forget all that nonsense as they settled in for the school year. Maybe Remus could get them started on talking about what they did on their summer hols. Once James got started on his favorite subject—himself—he could go on for hours.

Those teachers who’d attended the feast began to herd their charges along, so there was no reason for anyone to straggle behind. Remus had every intention of walking up with Sirius, even if they couldn’t hold hands, but before he could fall alongside him, Lily had claimed his arm.

“Escort me upstairs, Mr. Lupin?” she said brightly. He couldn’t well refuse the request of his fellow prefect, could he?

“Of course, Miss Evans!” he responded in kind, throwing an apologetic look at Sirius.

Sirius laughed and hooked his arm through James’ instead. “Oh Mr. Potter,” he exclaimed in a high-pitched falsetto, as he leaned toward James, who towered a few inches above him, “will you do me the honor of escorting me to my house?”

“Well, of course, Miss Black!” James fell in with his cohort as if they’d had this planned. They began to prance together toward the staircase. Peter followed them, giggling, and Remus and Lily fell into step behind Peter.

“Blood will tell,” a withering voice came from nearby. “Even old blood can be bad.” Remus frowned, searching for the speaker. He should have known. Lucius Malfoy. He was walking beside Severus Snape, his attention focused on Sirius and James. There was no sign of either of Sirius’ cousins, or Lestrange.

Severus made no response, but from the way he glared at Sirius’ retreating figure, Remus could see that he had no love for him either. But when he returned his attention toward Lucius, Remus was shocked to watch his expression soften into something more… tender? Was that the right word?

No, he must have imagined it. Severus did not just look at Lucius the way James looked at Lily, or Remus looked at Sirius. That wasn’t possible. Lucius Malfoy was an engaged man, and he was certainly not gay…

Remus shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was really tired if he was imagining that. He focused on the sexy way Sirius’ ass moved when he walked, all the way up to Gryffindor House.