good things fall apart • sirius black

Enough

The Great Hall had been dressed for Hallowe'en, ready for the holiday coming up in a few days. It was always a spectacle to see and something much anticipated by both students and staff each year. Orange streamers were hung everywhere, the floating candles near the ceilings replaced with glowing pumpkins and even bats spent their days flying around. It became somewhat of a nuisance, when the creatures were flying around your head during dinner, but otherwise it was fantastic. Of course, most students were more concerned with the feast on Hallowe'en night, but the decorations were breath-taking on their own.

Four friends, however, took no notice as they rushed into the Great Hall for breakfast. Grabbing plates full of pastries and toast as quickly as possible, before exiting again. The smallest even carried a huge mug of tea, carefully holding it out in front of him to not spill any, as he scuttled behind the rest of the group.

Remus was in the Hospital Wing and that was far more important than goggling at pumpkins.

Thankfully, the full moon hadn't been a particularly rough one. The lanky boy was still a patchwork of purple, green and blue bruises and he still had open wounds on his chest and up his arms. But he'd had worse.

Madam Pomfrey was able to set him on the road to recovery as easy as tying her shoelaces and ensured Remus he wouldn't need to stay in the hospital wing for longer than one more day. Though, he still needed to get his strength back and the only way he could do that was through rest and food.

His whole body ached, every time he moved it felt like his bones were grinding against each other, but after years of the same thing he was used to the pain. Remus no longer complained about how he was feeling, for his body was accustomed to the turmoil it was constantly going through. However, that didn't make it any easier, and recovering after the full moon was always the worst. Not even the relief of some form of relaxation for another month could dull the itching of his skin.

There was the sound of a girl imitating a howl and Remus knew instantly his friends had arrived. The Hospital Wing doors flew open, four children barrelling inside as if it were a race.

The beautiful girl was first, brandishing a bowl of croissants, that subsequently got dropped on the floor when she saw Remus lying in bed. The bowl of breakfast pastries went clattering to the floor, but she didn't even flinch as she rushed to her friend's side. Remus' hand was in her own in a matter of moments, squeezing it tightly as she perched on the end of his bed.

Tripping over the bowl now rolling on the floor, James was next by the bedside, keeping a firm grip on his plate. It had a mountain of toast piled high, all threatening to go toppling over any minute, but he made it to Remus without losing one piece. They'd need it all now that the croissants had been sacrificed. At the sight of his friend, somewhat in one piece, he sighed and gave a lopsided smile.

After him was Sirius, hands full of two different pots of jam, a plate of butter and multiple knives. It was probably dangerous, letting him carry the cutlery, but being sensible wasn't a priority.

And last, but by no means least, was the smallest Marauder. Not one drop of Remus' tea had been spilled, but he stumbled so clumsily, that it was rather surprising the whole mug hadn't gone flying. A croissant was crushed under his foot, as his eyes trained on the mug in his hands, instead of where he was going, and he had to be dragged over to the right bed.

    "How are you?" Ellie was first to speak, her features mangled together with worry, but Remus gave her a reassuring smile.

    "As good as I can be, now you're all here." The simple replied came out in a strained voice, his eyes still droopy with tiredness.

The lanky boy wasn't really up to much, but he managed to shuffle to a sitting position so he could at least chat with his friends. There would be no way he could ever repay them all for being so understanding, rushing to see him as soon as they got up. It meant the world to Remus, for he never thought he'd have friends like this, let alone a family like the one he had around him.