The Marauders: Year Three | #Wattys2016

Slughorn's Brunch

Slughorn's Brunch

James groaned when his eyes popped open on Saturday morning. Light streamed through the window over his bed and he rolled to clutch his pillow. "Not Saturday," he groaned. "I've never loathed a Saturday as much as I do this one."

Sirius was already sitting up on the edge of his mattress, "I'm with you, mate."

"As am I," Remus said from the other side of the room.

"What are you going to do while we're all off facing our horrible fates, Peter?" Sirius asked, looking over as Peter was tying his trainers, sitting on his trunk.

Peter shrugged, "Dunno. Was thinking of going down the kitchens and stocking up some snacks for the room. Maybe start working on the Divination assignment..." He looked at Sirius as he finished up his trainers. "Did you start yet?"

They'd been assigned to keep a journal of dreams that they would use in the second part of term in the class. Sirius scowled, "No," he said, "I don't dream," he added. A lie. He'd had loads of dreams that week, but he would rather die than hand then over to Peter to interpret.

"So how are you going to do the assignment?" Peter worried.

"I'll make some load up - Vablatsky will never know the difference. Don't worry about it. And just think, you won't have any trouble interpreting it if it's all a load of dung," Sirius said with a shrug.

Remus looked doubtful, "May have more of a trouble interpreting it then, as it won't actually mean anything to be interpreted... I'm just saying."

Sirius waved Remus off.

A few minutes later, the boys had said goodbye to Peter and gone down to the common room. Lily was waiting there for Remus and Peter, wearing a yellow sundress and a matching bow in her hair beneath her school robes, which she'd left undone in the front to show her dress. James looked down at his robes and wished he'd worn something nicer. "You look good, Evans," he declared, seeing her.

Lily flushed, "Shut it, you," she said, and she hastened to climb through the portrait hole.

"Do you see?" James exclaimed, looking to Remus, "It isn't me that starts these things! I can't even compliment her without her picking a fight!"

Remus said, "I think it's the way you say things more than what, exactly, it is that you say."

James looked baffled, "The way I say them? What way did I say that?"

Remus's voice dropped several octaves to imitate James's, "You look good, Evans," he said, mocking how James had done it.

"You sound like a caveman!" James said, rolling his eyes, that's not what I sound like!"

Sirius was snickering, "Actually, it was a pretty bang-on impression of you, I felt."

Lily stuck her head back in, "Are you lot coming or what?" she demanded, looking about at them.

"Jeez, impatient, much?" James asked, rolling his eyes, "Bloody hell, sorry I didn't know this was the ruddy running of the hippogriffs." He slung himself through the portrait hole after her.

Remus looked at Sirius, "Why doesn't he get it?"

"Blind as a bat," Sirius agreed. "Maybe somebody ought to check his prescription."

Remus shook his head and climbed out into the corridor, closely followed by Sirius.

They made their way down the long moving staircase and out the doors into the paved courtyard, standing in the morning sun by the trees as several Hufflepuffs rushed by on their way to the Great Hall. Sirius sighed, looking off across the courtyard to the north end of the castle. "Alright you lot," he said, shrugging, "Guess I'll see you all later... I'm off to McGonagall's."