The Marauders: Year Five #Wattys2017

Patronus Class

Patronus Class

Remus's knee was broken again. Madam Pomfrey confirmed it when the boys dragged Remus up from the tunnel and into Hogwarts. They told her he'd fallen off the bed in the dormitory, told her that he'd busted it jumping from one bed to another during a game of bedroom quidditch, which Sirius made up rules for on the fly when Madam Pomfrey asked what that was. "We use balled up socks as bludgers and a pillow for a quaffle and the two walls are the rings and the goal is to get the pillow past the keepers who stand on the beds and two of us play beaters slash chasers and we jump from bed to bed and --"

"It's a wonder it took this long for a injury!" Pomfrey said, though Sirius wasn't positive she'd brought the bedroom quidditch thing at all.

Luckily, Remus's injuries had occurred while he was in human form and in a non-magical circumstance so the bones and cartilage could be healed with magic. Pomfrey pulled out a bottle shaped like a skeleton and poured a good deal of steaming liquid into a cup and held it out to Remus. "Drink up, lad," she said as he took the cup and peered into the liquid uncertainly.

He sipped it and made a face, "Merlin's beard! That is disgusting."

"Nasty business, regrowing bones," she muttered and she walked away, calling, "Every drop, Mr. Lupin!" as she went to get a vial of sleeping draught.

The boys clustered around Remus's bed.

"I'm so sorry, Moony," Sirius said, taking Remus's hand, "It's my fault you're hurt."

"How do you reckon?" Remus asked, choking down the potion, gagging as he did. It really did taste terrible. Like rotten food and chalk.

"On account of it being my idea we go into the woods. Everything that happened is my fault." He stared at his toes quite glumly.

James shook his head, "It's not your fault, Sirius! If it wasn't for the bleedin' dementors, it wouldn't have happened. It's - it's Minchum's fault." There was a certain level of sadness in James's voice. After all, Harold Minchum had become a bit of a hero figure in James's eyes and admitting that Minchum wasn't all that James had thought him to be really took a bit out of him. He sighed.

"Yeah, Padfoot, you did excellent," said Peter. "You were really brave, staying behind like you did so we could get away..."

Sirius shrugged.

Remus reached up and put a hand on his cheek, "I'm proud of you."

Sirius melted at the words, clutching Remus's palm to his face.

Madam Pomfrey returned then and she shooed the three boys out of the hospital wing. "You can visit with him later, right now Mr. Lupin needs to rest and work on the process of rebuilding that knee." She gave him the vial of sleeping draught and chased James, Peter, and Sirius into the hallway.

Sirius stood before the door, staring back at it. He still felt guilty.

James nudged him, "C'mon. Let's go. We'll come back later."

Quidditch practice that morning was very subdued; really everyone was too cold to do well. Being on a broomstick was torture in the cold, even with dragonhide gloves. Peter and Sirius sat in the stands and watched for part of it - at least until Carly Shaw and the other girls that hung about with her showed up and Carly tried sitting a bit closer to Sirius than he was comfortable with and he made up an excuse to go back up to the castle. It was rather cold in the stands anyway, and the practice was nearly over anyway.