The Marauders: Year One (female)

24. Percuro

Remus sat in the armchair by the fire, scribbling out the last few lines of her essay. Her legs were flung over Sirius's lap. Sirius hadn't even started her essay, chewing her pencil, and absently staring into the flames.

The Common Room was pretty much empty, as everyone was either in their dorms, still eating dinner in the Great Hall, outside, or in the library.

Petra was still at dinner, and Jamie had dozed off by the foot of the armchair. She snored lightly, every now and then, and Sirius had taken great delight in scribbling a thick moustache on her upper lip.

Remus took a nervous glance out the window. It was the night of the full moon, and it was getting dark. She should be on her way soon. She slammed her book shut abruptly, causing Sirius to look up.

'Done already?' she asked, looking impressed.

'It wouldn't take you so long if you stopped using Jamie as a canvas, and actually got on with the work,' Remus chided, biting back a smile as she looked at some of the doodles and obscenities Sirius had decorated Jamie's skin with. 'Quite the regular Picasso, aren't you?'

Sirius smirked. 'I have no idea what you just said, but I'm going to pretend it was a compliment. Wanna help me on my essay too? I think that if I write one more inch on wand movements, I'm going to go starkers.'

Remus scoffed, looking at Sirius's scribbled on, but otherwise empty roll of parchment. 'One more inch? You haven't even written the date.'

'All the more reason to help me start it off!' whined Sirius, giving Remus big grey eyes.

'You need to learn how to do your own work. One day, I'm not going to be there, and you won't know how to do your homework. Besides,' Remus sighed, gathering her things together, and preparing to get up, 'I can't. I'm going home.'

Sirius grabbed her ankle as she detangled her legs. 'What? Why?'

Remus froze, shaking Sirius off, and getting up. She hadn't thought it through that far. Her cheeks went pink as she looked at the floor, and mumbled, 'Err... my mother's sick. I've got to visit her. Permission from McGonagall.'

Sirius's smooth brow creased with concern. 'You're going home? It must be pretty serious then. Why didn't you tell us before? They don't normally allow students to go home for ill parents. How -- how is she?' Sirius didn't even bother making her usual pun.

Remus scuffed the floor anxiously with her battered shoe. 'She'll be fine,' she mumbled, not daring to meet Sirius's eye. 'I'll be back soon. Take my books up for me, will you?'

She dumped her books onto a flabbergasted Sirius's lap, as she turned to the portrait hole, unwilling to undergo much more interrogation.

Sirius pushed the books onto the armchair as she got up and tried to follow Remus. 'Remus! Re! You can't just go like that! Why didn't you say something before! OI!'

But Remus had opened the portrait hole and fled. Sirius half stepped out, scanning the corridor up and down, but Remus seemed to have vaporised into thin air.

She sighed grumpily. What was it with that Lupin kid? Always here, always there, always in Sirius's head.

'Shut the bloody hole!' screamed the Fat Lady.

'I'll shut your bloody hole for you, alright,' muttered Sirius darkly, as she retreated back into the Common Room.

Jamie had risen from her slumber at all the commotion, and was looking at Sirius with sleepy eyes. 'What's going on?'

Sirius thumped back in her comfy red armchair before the fire, her limbs sprawled messily. She stared into the flames, her mouth barely moving as she replied, 'Remus's gone to see her sick mother, apparently. She'll be gone for a day.'