peas, pranks and quiet worries
Remus wakes to the sound of James squawking, “What the hell is going on here?”
He practically jumps out of bed, scrambling to reply. “I—I don’t know? I just sort of fell asleep, and I don’t really remember how.” Remus frowns, trying to piece together last night, but all he recalls is watching the stars near the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
“Well, you’d better get your robes on. Breakfast is about to start. And don’t forget to wake up your sleeping beauty,” James says, nodding toward Sirius, who’s still lying there, blissfully unaware of the commotion.
Remus glances at Sirius, who looks so peaceful that he almost doesn’t want to disturb him. But with a sigh, he leans over, nudging him. “Come on, Sirius. It’s morning, and we’re late for breakfast.”
Sirius stirs, blinking groggily. When he realises where he is—and that Remus is right there—he breaks into a sleepy grin. “Morning, Moony. Having fun ruining my beauty sleep?”
Giggling, Remus pulls the covers back and tugs on Sirius’s arm, coaxing him out of bed with a playful pull. Sirius lets out a groan, dragging his feet as he finally gives in and swings his legs over the edge, reluctantly standing. He grumbles under his breath, trudging over to the dresser with the dramatic exhaustion of someone facing a much bigger task.
As he sifts through his clothes, Remus crosses his arms, amused. “You’re acting like you’re about to go to war.”
“It feels like it,” Sirius mutters, stifling a yawn. He grabs a shirt and pulls it over his head, giving Remus a halfhearted glare. "Do you know what time it is?"
“Early enough to avoid breakfast without James interrogating us,” Remus teases. Sirius rolls his eyes, though a faint smile breaks through.
Fully dressed at last, Sirius stretches and then gives Remus a nudge toward the door. “You owe me coffee for this,” he says, his voice barely concealing a grin as they head out.
Sirius looks like he might collapse onto the floor and sleep right there. He appears utterly exhausted.
“Sirius, mate, you look dead,” Remus says, unable to hide his concern.
Without missing a beat, Sirius replies, “What is already dead can never die.”
Remus snickers, struggling not to burst into full laughter.
They finally make it to the dining hall, where they spot James animatedly chatting with Barty from Ravenclaw. Every so often, James sneakily launches a pea at unsuspecting students, then whips his head around to stare at the ceiling with exaggerated innocence, whistling off-key like it’s a perfectly normal thing to do at breakfast. It’s subtle—if you consider “subtle” to mean pointing directly at Barty when anyone glares his way.
“Real smooth, Prongs,” Remus mutters, watching as James accidentally hits McGonagall’s tea cup, causing her to give him the Look of Doom.
“You shush, Moony. Like you didn’t do this when you were a first year,” James retorts, his voice dripping with sass.
Remus raises an eyebrow. “I may have… but at least I was smooth about it. You’ve got to throw it behind you, so it doesn’t look like it’s from you.” He grabs a pea, flings it behind him, and it lands directly on the Slytherin table.
“Real smooth, Remus,” comes a familiar, scornful voice from behind him. Snape is standing there, unimpressed, with a stray pea stuck to his robes.
James, Sirius, and Barty explode into laughter. Sirius looks like he’s about to lay an egg; James and Barty are practically gasping for air, caught somewhere between laugh-crying and actually passing out. Remus can’t help but smirk, feeling he’s played the best prank of the morning—even if it backfired a little.
Once they have stopped laughing, it's the end of breakfast.they grab their wands and walk out of the dining hall after having nothing to eat.
After school, Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter sit together in the common room with Mary and Lily, chatting about the upcoming Hogsmeade trip. Mary seems a little tense as she turns to Lily.
“Hey, Lily?” Mary asks, her voice tinged with worry.
“Yeah?” Lily responds, looking over at her.
“Do you… want to go to Hogsmeade with me?” Mary asks, fidgeting with her fingers.
“Oh my god, yes! We need a girls’ day!” Lily says, beaming with excitement.
“Oh, uh… yeah. Girls’ day,” Mary replies, her tone softening, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
Remus and Sirius share a glance, clearly in a silent exchange.
“I have never been this excited for Hogsmeade,” James announces dramatically, “I need more chocolate frogs. Someone ate my entire stash.” He shoots Peter a look, but Peter’s busy pretending to admire every detail of the room like he’s a first-year seeing it for the first time.
Everyone chuckles, and Remus adds, “I just need to get out of the castle for a bit. I’m buried in schoolwork and exams, and I’m praying I pass potions—especially since someone keeps distracting me.” He gives Sirius a mock-glare, earning another round of laughter.
"Schoolwork is no joke. I’ve been studying nonstop for a week—I’m losing it," Mary groans, hugging her knees and resting her chin on top of them.
“She really is!” Lily chimes. “She thought it was November… it’s September!” Mary gives her a playful shove, nearly sending Lily toppling over.
“I really need to study more," James sighs, sounding defeated. "My Charms results came back… I got a C."
"Don't worry, Prongs. You'll be fine. It's just Charms. Besides, there are more important things to focus on," Peter says, trying to lift his spirits.
"If I don't pass my Transfiguration exam, McGonagall is going to have my head," Lily chimes in.
Yawning, Remus stretches and says, "I should get to bed; I’m exhausted after all those tests."
As if on cue, everyone in the room calls out their goodnights, and Remus makes his way upstairs to their dorm, ready to collapse into bed and dream of anything but schoolwork.
Lying in bed, Remus thinks about Mary and Lily. He feels a bit sorry for Mary; she’s been so quiet lately. Normally, Lily is observant, but tonight she seems too caught up in her own excitement to notice that something’s bothering her friend. Remus decides he’ll talk to Mary tomorrow to see if she wants to share what’s on her mind. After all, friendship means being there for each other when things get tough. With a sigh, he sinks deeper into his pillow, hoping that in the morning, things will feel a little better for both of them.