swim || remus lupin

la da dee

My family, back when I would consider us one, was never huge on Easter. We would categorize ourselves as Christians, sure, and maybe once a month we'd make an appearance at our local church, but aside from the baskets of store bought candy and chocolate bunnies that awaited Theo and I every Easter Sunday, the holiday didn't have much meaning for my dear brother and I.

This indifference was not the case, however, for James Potter and, consequently, the group of friends he had accumulated over his 18 years of life.

The boy's awakening shrieks echoed in my dreamlike state, the words "Squid" and "Moony" rattling around my subconscious until I was torn from my peaceful sleep.

Through the harsh white light peeking over the horizon, I could make out James's tall, energetic figure, which was bouncing rather annoyingly on the edge of Remus and my bed. He was fully dressed in jeans and a button down shirt, which was quite the improvement from his usual athleticwear, though his hair was still unbearably sticking round in all directions.

I rolled my head to the side to find that Remus had shoved one of the royal green pillows over his face in an attempt to drown out James's cheering.

"Jimmy," I groaned, rubbing my knuckles into my eyes. "What time is it?"

"Already six thirty!" He replied urgently. He concluded his jumping so now he was merely standing over the two of us.

"That's thirty minutes earlier than last year!" Remus cried, his words muffled through the pillow.

"We have a lot to do!" James protested. "Besides, I woke you two lovebirds up last."

He clamored down from our bed and stood beside me. With both hands he pulled away the warmth of the covers, leaving him and me in a standoff, waiting for the other to break.

"Come on, Squid," he said, extending his hand. "It's your first Marauders Easter!"

I glared at him and his hand momentarily, but eventually accepted it and let James hoist me out of bed. I knew he had too much pride to give in, and at this point I was cold and awake anyways.

I walked around the foot of the bed to Remus's side and ripped the pillow from his grasp. He let his hands fall defeatedly to his sides and stared up at me with wide eyes, as if begging for me to spare him.

"If I'm going, you're going," I stated, reaching out my hand the same way James did.

Remus glanced over my shoulder at James, who was now grinning eagerly and bouncing slightly on his toes, and back to me before huffing and taking my hand.

"You owe me," he grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm sure I'll think of something," I replied with a smile.

"Gross!" Exclaimed James, slamming his hands over his ears as we exited the room.

The three of us descended the large staircase and entered the kitchen where, as promised, all of our friends were already awake and eating breakfast. Though, of the seven of them, only Alice, Peter, and Lily seemed relatively conscious.