A Marauder's Guide to Falling Together

Chapter Nine

She couldn't help but notice the next morning that Remus had not been present during breakfast as she hadn't been expecting him to be gone so early. She wasn't the only one to notice this though; Lily had apparently been waiting for him to show up in the great hall before Potions and commented on his absence on their way to class.

"Remus was supposed to do rounds with me this evening," Lily said with disappointment at the realization, "I completely forgot that he wasn't going to be here."

"I already told Remus that I'd take his place this evening," James had heard her from a short distance behind them. The group of students had been heading towards the dungeons and, surprisingly, Lily didn't seem all that disappointed by his offer or by the fact that he had obviously been listening in.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" she asked hesitantly. The two of them had been spending an awful lot of time on Head duties lately and Marlene suspected that Lily felt guilty that James had gotten roped into more work on his night off.

"It's no problem!" he said with assurance and Lily's smile widened genuinely.

It was a bit unusual to witness their exchange as anyone that had known James and Lily from previous years knew that they had been notorious for not getting along. Despite the fact that it was unnerving to see such a change in their encounters, it appeared to be equally amusing to the Slytherin students who had gotten wind of their conversation outside of the classroom.

Avery and Nott were snickering with whatever snide remarks had been made quietly within their group but it was Snape's paled expression of perverse revulsion that caught Marlene's eye. He was watching James and Lily with complete hatred but neither of them seemed willing to pay the group of Slytherin's any further attention. It appeared that Snape's initial attempt after the welcome speech to sabotage their relationship had failed miserably.

"Mind your own business," Sirius barked irritably at them as they passed by into the classroom and Snape's expression deepened. It was apparent that his dislike for Sirius had intensified since more recent events.

"What sort of potion are we brewing today do you think?" James settled into the chair beside Marlene while they waited for the remaining students to filter in around them.

"Draught of the Living Death," Marlene said dully as she rearranged her quills neatly on the desk in front of her.

"You think so, do you?" James said with an attempt at a joyful laugh and Marlene wondered how he could possibly have so much energy since she assumed he had been out with Sirius the previous evening.

"I don't think so," she said pointedly before directing her finger towards the board at the front of the room. "It says so on the board. What I'm curious about it how you could possibly have so much energy this morning?"

"Practice," he said with a cheeky wink but upon closer inspection she could see the tiredness etched into the lines under his eyes.

"How's Remus's mother doing?" Marlene knew that James would understand her question even if any prying ears did not.

"She's doing well this morning, resting for a few days I imagine before she'll be her old self again," he smiled politely and Marlene took his answer to mean that Remus was probably already in the hospital wing awaiting the full moon that would grace the sky later that evening.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said earnestly before she was interrupted by Professor Slughorn and the commencement of class .They were indeed introduced to the preparation for concocting their most difficult potion to date; the Draught of the Living Death.

Sirius had joined their table to wait for James like he normally did at the end of class. Nothing much had changed between them since their conversation the previous night; in fact he failed to acknowledge her presence like every other day and she was left feeling quite as defeated as she had before their encounter.