Mischief Managed Year One: Mayhem of the Moon

Chapter Fifty- The Aftermath

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Remus was let go after Severus ruined the Slytherins' surprise. The pinned down Gryffindor had heard shouted spells and saw blasts on both sides. Remus just hoped the Gryffindors hit the Slytherins as much as they hit them.

As soon as he was released, his captor rushing off with a grumbled threat of 'you better keep your mouth shut,' he struggled to his feet. It took a while, and it was only thanks to the support structures that Remus was able to stand upright.

Once he had his balance it was harder to ignore his pain. But he was used to pain. So he dusted himself off, wincing and inhaling sharply as his hand brushed his rib cage. Realizing this wasn't working well, he used magic to clean himself up instead. Pleased with the results, and that the Slytherins had actually given his wand back unharmed, Remus knew he'd have to go to Madam Pomfrey. The trick was not letting his friends know.

He braced himself, scolding himself again for getting into such ridiculous positions. But in some terrible way, this had been a good thing. Now he was certain that it was the Slytherins that caused his tumble off the tower. He just wasn't sure how.

Peeking through the flap, where he had glimpsed poor Lily being forced by her friend towards James who looked both abashed and pleased, Remus saw the aftermath of the attack. It had ended pretty quickly, and he hoped that Sirius would never let James let down the kiss, and they could just forget what the Slytherins did. Remus sighed heavily, a mistake on his part, and walked into the blazing sun.

"Remus!" Peter shouted, rushing over to him and breathing heavily from the exertion.

"Peter, are you alright?" His friend caught up to Remus, from where it appeared Peter had been hiding behind one of the goalposts. Peter's hair was ruffled, robes disheveled, and he was a bit dirty from when he had fallen during his hasty retreat. Otherwise, he was unharmed.

James, oh poor James, was a different story.

"That's him up there isn't it?" Remus asked, trying to see but the bright sunlight made his head and eyes throb in protest, so he quickly looked away.

"Yeah. One of the blasted Slytherins did it and no one can figure out how to get him down. Where were you hiding?" Peter asked innocently enough, scanning the field as if trying to find Remus' brilliant hiding spot. It was a fair assumption, as Remus no doubt looked better than most as he had 'Scourgified' his robes, now knowing how useful that spell could be.

Remus wanted to tell Peter that he hadn't been hiding, that he never would have hidden, but knew that would make his friend who had hid feel bad. However, it was not like Peter was the only one who hid. A few of the younger students had come out of the ordeal unscathed, but were pink-faced at their natural reaction to perceived danger. But they, unlike Peter, didn't look proud of the fact.

"Peter." Remus was going to explain to him, gently as possible, that Peter shouldn't point out that he had hidden during the altercation. It was understandable that Peter hid, but the older students might be upset if they knew. But before Remus could get a word out, Sirius rushed over to him looking ready to launch himself at Remus. Not at all wanting this, nor able to handle such contact, Remus quickly sidestepped using Peter as a human shield.

"I'm not mad, honestly. Just glad you didn't get hexed." Sirius encouraged, his hands raised as if Remus may try to run. Glad Sirius mistook his gesture, but didn't seem offended, he nodded slightly.

"You aren't hurt either? Who is hurt?" Remus asked, full of concern for his house mates.

"Well, James's pride was hurt and he might be hurt if we don't get him down soon," Sirius explained, glancing worriedly up where James still hung upside down.