Shooting Star

Chapter Fourteen

"How the hell'd you get in the girls' dormitories?" James was asking Sirius at breakfast the next morning.
"Shove off." Sirius looked exhausted. I wasn't sure if he'd slept or not, but I had.
"All the years we've been trying to do that! You finally do it, and you don't know how?"
"I don't, Prongs." Sirius shrugged. "I could have had my way with you, huh, Taylor?"
"Fuck you." I said.
"Hey, if you say so."
Lily came in the Great Hall, her robes billowing behind her. She plopped down beside Sirius. "Are you okay?" She demanded.
"For Merlin's sake!" Sirius snapped, exasperated. "I'm bloody brilliant! Stop asking me."
I gave Lily a yep-this-is-it look.
Remus came in, also looking exhausted. "Are you okay, Padfoot?" He asked.
"I'M FINE!" He yelled.
Everyone turned to stare at us. I ducked my head.
"Come on, mate. What do you say we blow this joint?" Sirius asked Peter.
"Where do you want to go?" Pete asked.
"I don't care. Anywhere but here."
Sirius and Peter left as we were going to class. Lily and I exchanged looks.
Remus tripped and rolled down the stairs. The three of us remaining ran down to him. "Are you okay?" We were all demanding. A few other people laughed, but the three of us didn't.
"Yeah." He mumbled, and James helped him up.
"Come on, Moony. Let's get you back in bed."
"No. I have to--"
"Go, Remus. We've got you covered." I said.
James Potter is a role model. He takes everybody in and makes them family. There's Remus, and James makes him forget his illness. There's Peter, and James makes him forget how out of place he feels. There's Sirius, and James makes him forget how his family is. There's Lily, and James makes her forget about her sister. There's me, and James makes me forget how sad I am. James is a genuinely happy person, and it just rubs off on us. I don't see how not everybody loves him.
"I'm telling you. He's a werewolf." Severus said as we were walking to class.
Lily was with us, but only because she was with me. She just hadn't walked away when Severus came up.
"Shut up, Snape." We both said.
"Did I not tell you I'd hex you into next week if you didn't give that up?" I snapped.
Sirius and Peter were back for lunch. I stared at Sirius. "What?" He asked gruffly.
"Watch it, Black." James said warningly.
"I can take care of myself, James. Thanks, but I'm not scared of him." I said.
"You should be." Sirius got up and left. "I'll go sit with Moony."
"What's his deal?" Lily asked me, like I should know.
"I don't know." I shrugged.
"You aren't going to follow?"
"No. If he wanted help, he'd tell me. He can take care of himself."
"Look at that! Taylor's grown a backbone!" James said, clapping.
"Shut up, Potter."

"Hey, Moony. Feeling all right?" Sirius asked, walking into their dormitory.
"Yeah. Just studying." Moony sat in bed, a book open on his lap and blankets pulled around his shoulders, pale and shaky.
"Come on, mate. Take a break." Sirius pulled a blanket off of his own bed and draped it over Remus.
"No. I've got a test tomorrow and I won't be able to study tonight--"
"Moony, put the book down."
Remus sighed and put it down, pulling the blankets around him. Sirius sat on the foot of the bed, facing him.
"You shouldn't have such an attitude with everybody. We're just worried."
"I don't have an attitude."
"Yes you do. You really need to drop it with Eliza. She's not going to put up with your crap forever."
Sirius chose to ignore him. "I've got something that'll make you feel a bit better." He went over to his bed and returned with a bottle.
"And what is it?"
"Call it a tonic." He grinned.
"No, Sirius. I don't drink."
"Eliza says you, Evans and her go drink all the time."
"That traitor."
Sirius laughed and drank from the bottle, then held it out to him. With a sigh, Remus drank some too

"He's got to be a werewolf." Lily said as we were studying that night.
"I know." I agreed.

"Where's Remus?" Lily asked the next morning.
"In the hospital wing." James ate his breakfast casually.
"Is he all right?" I asked.
"Yeah. Madame Pomfrey won't let anybody in, though."
"Hence why I'm sneaking in. Who wants to come?" Sirius said.
We all went, and all managed to sneak in when Madame Pomfrey was with an an overdramatic Lucius Malfoy. "It's just a scrape, Mr. Malfoy. You can go." She said. Sounds like Malfoy.
"Hey, Moony." James said quietly as Lily cast a muffliato charm.
Remus opened his eyes. His grimace turned into a grin when he saw us, and he sat up. "Hello." He smiled. His arm was broken, and he had some scrapes on his face.
"Are you all right?" Lily and I said simultaneously.
"Yes, I'm fine. Madame Pomfrey just won't let me leave until noon."
"Just in time for your test." I said, trying to be positive.
"Right?"
Remus sat beside me in Professor Binns class. He fell asleep several times, and I nudged him awake each time.
All of the boys looked exhausted, though.

They were all back to their normal selves the next day, except Sirius. Sirius was still being a prick. Lily was still being extra nice to him, but, unlike usual, he didn't seem to enjoy it. He mostly avoided it.
Sirius fell asleep on the couch in the common room. Remus covered him with a blanket, and he woke up. He scowled at Remus and got up to walk out.
"Oi, Black." I said sharply.
He turned around, eyebrows raised a little bit. "What?"
"Sit down."
"What?" He was still confused, probably because of how sharp I was being with me.
"I said to sit down."
"I'm--"
"Sit your arse down, Black."
Everyone was staring at me, but he came and sat back down, crossing his arms huffily.
"Damn, Taylor." James said.
"If he's going to act like a child, I'll treat him like a child." I shrugged as Sirius glared at the floor. Like a child. "Thank Remus, Sirius. He was only being nice."
Sirius said nothing.
"Sirius." I said.
"Thank you, Remus." He scowled at the ground.
They were all staring at Sirius now, like they couldn't believe he was taking this shit from anybody. Normally he wouldn't, and we all knew it.
I had a plan. It would either really backfire, or it would fix things. It took me a while to decide to do it, but I did. "Will you come with me, Sirius?" I asked.
"No."
"Come with me, Sirius."
He stood and followed me. We went to a deserted corner of the room. I crossed my arms and looked at him. "What's wrong, Sirius?"
"Nothing."
"Let me help you."
"No."
"Why are we dating if you won't let me help you?"
"What?" His voice lost some of the harshness.
"There's no point in dating somebody if you aren't going to let them help you. So there's no reason for us to date."
"What?" He repeated.
"Do you want to break up, Black? Is that what you're trying to get at?"
"No."
"Then stop acting like a prick and let us help you."
"I don't need help."
"Then you don't need me. You know where to find me if you change your mind." I shrugged and walked away. When I sat back down, he was gaping at me from across the room.
"What'd you do to him?" James asked, standing up.
"Give it a minute, James. Sit back down." I said quietly. I felt so bad.
Sirius came back over after a moment. "I'm sorry." He said generally, looking down.
James raised his eyebrows at me. We all stared at Sirius. "It's okay." Remus said. Everyone else followed his lead. I said nothing, and he stared at me.
"Come on." I said. "Sit down."
He came and sat beside me, and I kissed his cheek. "Thank you."