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The last month was bittersweet. Everyone knew their time at Hogwarts was coming to an end; some were looking forward to the summer, some dreading it.
Though he loved his friends, James missed his parents and the feeling of being home; his doting mother had sent him an owl almost every week, with packages filled with delicacies she herself had baked. Being James, though, he had shared the sweets with all of his friends - particularly Peter, who couldn't get enough.
Now, though the boy was known for spreading mischief, he had spent the past weeks studying with Sirius and Peter. Or so they called it - in reality, they were discussing plans for their final few pranks, or just talking about whatever it was that eleven year old boys talk about. Only when Remus dragged them to the common room for a final few revisions did they actually study. Sometimes, Asteria joined them, helping one boy while Remus helped the others. Peter sometimes pretended he didn't understand Potions, Asteria's favorite subject, so she would explain the subject and then delve into an hour-long rambling session about the history and importance of the potion. It was a method that Peter had devised himself, to distract Asteria and to be able to take a nice break from studying. When Remus caught on, however, he always interrupted Asteria's rambling and the blonde girl glared at Peter.
"Using my love for potions against me," she would mutter, shaking her head. "The audacity."
Sirius, for his part, was definitely not looking forward to the summer. He had formed an attachment to Hogwarts, viewing it as his real home. Grimmauld Place was simply a place he lived, a place to go when he couldn't be at home. He would have to spend a whole three months in a silent house; his parents would either ignore him for the majority of the summer, or spend the first few days cursing him out (and cursing) and then ignore him for the rest of the summer. Though Sirius and his brother had been rather close, the holidays had proven Regulus to be completely brainwashed with pureblood ideals. Sirius blamed himself, knowing that if he had been there Regulus would've been prevented by that - but logically, he had no choice. He couldn't just skip Hogwarts to watch over his brother.
Remus had mixed feelings about the summer. For the first time in his life, the boy had true friends. He had the boys, whose company he enjoyed tremendously - they would spend hours coming up with pranks, pranking others, and that was a freedom that Remus didn't know he craved. But besides that, they would stay up to the early hours in the morning gossipping like teenage girls in their dorm; they had formed a bond, a true bond. He had the girls, too. Asteria and Lily. Friends that knew about his secret and had stuck around, despite that. He wished he didn't have to spend three months apart from everyone, but part of him was glad to be going home. There, he wouldn't have to worry about hiding his secret; his parents had cast silencing charms around the basement where he always transformed, so no Muggles would ever find out. And he was glad to see his parents, as well. Though their marriage was tense, Hope and Lyall still loved each other, and their son.
