Forever and a Day ~ James Potter

April Fool's?

Chapter Thirty-Six

Thursday 1st April 1976 ~ 18:05 ~ full moon

The last few days of March passed quite uneventfully since both Rosie and Remus refused to say a word about their night to any of their friends. 

Remus was due to transform that night and was getting steadily more irritable with everyone around him once again, and he was even worse this month due to the stress of Snape sticking his nose into his business. Since it was spring now, Remus had to spend longer suffering before the moon came out and he could turn, so he was currently curled up pathetically on one of the settees in the Gryffindor common room.

Lily and Rosie sat together in the large armchair beside him, discussing quietly what Snape had told Lily a couple of hours beforehand. He had assumed that he was the only one to notice any of the signs, and Lily was forced to act oblivious to his hints.

"I just can't believe he's so desperate to get back at the Marauders that he's trying to spread false information about Remus," Lily hissed, looking over at the lanky boy worriedly.

"Well, I'd hardly call it false information," Rosie reasoned. "But yes, I agree. What I don't understand is how he figured it out?"

"He's not stupid, you know," Lily said, used to having to defend Snape in front of her friends. "But if he had some common sense, he wouldn't try and look into lycanthropy to sabotage a fellow student."

"Who's looking to sabotage a fellow student?" Sirius asked, looking up at the girls. He and James were sat on the floor in front of the settee to comfort Remus while Peter leant over the back of it, dabbing Remus's forehead with a damp flannel.

"Who do you think?" Rosie replied sarcastically.

"Snivellus," Sirius muttered angrily. "Why can't he keep his big fat nose out of everyone's personal matters?"

"Probably because it's near impossible to keep a nose that size to yourself," James chuckled, forgetting the company he was in.

"Nice one, James," Sirius laughed before looking back at the girls. "Did you try and put him off the scent."

"Of course I did," Lily snapped. "Told him he was being a nosy prat and the idea of a werewolf running around the corridors once a month was absurd."

"Yes, it's absolutely ridiculous," Remus mumbled sarcastically from the sofa, causing Sirius to look at him sympathetically.

"Hold on," James said suddenly, sitting up straight and opening his mouth at Peter. "It's the first of April!"

"So?" Sirius asked confusedly, looking between the two boys.

Peter gasped then as well. "It's already six o'clock, and we haven't pulled a prank!"

"How could I forget?" James exclaimed, looking genuinely devastated. His whole expression seemed to sink and his shoulders drooped as he desperately thought of how to remedy this dire situation.

"Maybe because your best friend is going through hell on earth today?" Remus grumbled, shifting slightly in his foetal position but letting out a groan of discomfort nethertheless.

"Yeah, of course," James said distantly, staring at the ground in concentration. After a few moments, he turned back to Peter, "Wormy, you'll be able to think of something to do before we're, erm... going for a stroll, right?"

Peter nodded eagerly, always the first to jump at the chance to prank a few unsuspecting students or teachers. But Sirius interrupted. "You know, I think I've got an idea... you do your thing, Wormy and I'll go and prepare mine, deal?"