Eclipsed

The summer before James' fourth year had stretched on endlessly. While he had enjoyed spending time with his parents and flying around the yard with Peter, honing their Quidditch skills, the absence of his friends felt more present than anything else. Despite the formal invitations Effie and Fleamont had extended to the other boys' parents, neither Remus' nor Sirius' families had replied positively.

The Lupins were worried about the increasing intensity of Remus’ pre- and post-moon symptoms, especially without access to Madame Pomfrey during the summers, and replied with a curt “Sorry, Remus has been unwell,” refusing to discuss the matter further. Meanwhile, the Black family, heavily steeped in their prejudices, vehemently opposed any association with "foreigners" and "blood traitors" like the Potters, and replied with a rude note saying as much.

Being with Peter was comforting, as they’d been friends since childhood, but even so, both boys agreed that being alone paled in comparison to the Marauders united. So, as the Potters and Pettigrews passed through the barrier together, as they had for the past three years, James immediately set off in search of the missing pieces of their group.

Navigating the bustling platform, James attempted to weave through the crowd, searching for Remus or Sirius. However, before he could locate them, a sudden collision sent James stumbling.

"Sorry-" he began, turning to the person he'd bumped into, only to freeze as recognition dawned. "Evans! How was your holiday?" James offered a hand to help her up, the collision having sent her to the ground.

"Fine, no thanks to you, Potter," Lily replied, brushing off his assistance and regaining her footing. "Unlike some people here, I can handle myself. It's a little early for you to be targeting me with your usual antics, isn't it?"

James coughed awkwardly, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. He hadn't seen her coming, and he certainly hadn't intended to knock her over.

"Targeting you with my antics? Nonsense! Evans, you dazzled me with your presence; I never even saw you coming!" James flashed what he imagined would be a dazzling smile, attempting to smooth down his perpetually untamable hair, even though it had been cropped short over the summer. Lily remained unimpressed.

"Bollocks, Potter," she retorted, bracing herself for what was sure to be a scathing retort, but before she could continue, a familiar voice called over the noise.

"Everything alright here, James, Lily?" The two turned to see Remus approaching, his increasingly lanky figure freckled and hair bleached on the top from a summer split between working on a farm and reading under the sun. James could tell that he wasn’t feeling his best, though, but he was putting on a pretty good show for Lily. The full moon was tonight, and according to his letters, the plan was for Madam Pomfrey to collect him directly from the train. 

"It's better now that you're here, Remus," Lily quipped, shooting James a pointed glance. "Potter here knocked me over deliberately! The term hasn't even started, and he's already making my life difficult!"

Remus smiled, though it came out as more of a grimace. "I'm sure it was an accident... You know, if you're beyond the frame of his glasses, he probably couldn't see you coming." James' notoriously thick glasses had become a staple of the Marauders' escapades, his claim to innocence often being something along the lines of “my glasses were off, didn’t see anything suspicious at all!” 

Recognizing the futility of continuing the argument, Lily rolled her eyes and pulled her trunk behind her, bidding Remus farewell before shooting James a parting glare. "Goodbye, Potter... try not to push anyone onto the tracks before we depart, alright?"

James waved her off with a grin, turning his attention back to Remus, just as Sirius appeared between them, wrapping an arm around his friends.

"Who are we pushing onto the tracks? Snivellus?" Sirius joked, pulling them closer.

"Not feeling murderous just yet," James replied, smiling. "Accidentally ran into Evans looking for you two, and she assumed the worst."

"Given your track record, James, I can't say I blame her," Remus added, waving to Peter, who was looking for them in an increasingly full crowd. "Before the term ended, you charmed her books to snap shut on her fingers every time she opened them."

"I'd forgotten about that!" James laughed, reminiscing about the prank they had pulled on their fellow classmates after exams. "Do you think she was impressed?"

Remus started to disagree, before Peter interjected.

"I would've been very impressed, if I were her, James," Peter said earnestly, earning a laugh from Sirius.

"Me too, Jamie, me too," Sirius agreed, before wrapping an arm around the other boy, whose face had gone pale all of a sudden. “Let’s get this one onto the train, shall we?” James nodded and turned away, giving Remus a modicum of privacy to gag in the direction of a large potted bush, and reached out an arm out to Peter.

"This is why Pete's my favorite," James declared playfully, pulling Peter into a side hug. "He's the only one who truly understands me." Peter beamed under the praise, and before Sirius and Remus could escape, the Potters and Mrs. Pettigrew arrived, drawing the boys' attention.

"Hello, boys," Fleamont greeted warmly, with his wife Effie and Patricia Pettigrew trailing only a few paces behind. With an arm still wrapped around his friend, Sirius began to offer his hand in the pureblood fashion, but the pair was quickly pulled into a hug by Mr. Potter instead.

"Good to see you, son," Fleamont said, releasing Sirius and turning to Remus. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit better, sir, thank you," Remus replied, before being scooped into another hug by Effie. His ‘summer illness’ excuse was quite plausible, given his pre-moon appearance. 

"Still looking a bit peaky, love, sorry to hear that," Effie chimed in, looking him over with her scrutinizing healer’s stare. "Where are your parents? Somewhere on the platform?"

"Oh, no," Remus replied sheepishly. "They couldn't make it today. Da just dropped me off earlier, on his way into work."

"Shame, I would’ve loved to see your mum again" Effie remarked, before glancing at the clock. "Almost time to board, isn't it?"

"Absolutely," Sirius interjected hastily. "We'd better get going. Goodbye, Potters, Mrs. Pettigrew!" With that, Sirius dragged Remus away, who was starting to get pretty moonsick, their trunks following obediently. While Peter’s mum smothered him for one last time that day, James’ parents pulled him aside for a final goodbye.

"See you at winter break, Beta," Effie said, pulling him into a tight squeeze. "We love you!"

"Write when you can, son," Fleamont added, pressing a kiss to the top of James' head. "We want to hear all about it."

James promised to write, and after a final hug, he hurried to catch up with his friends, the weight of excitement and anticipation buoying his steps. As he swung open the compartment door with a bang, startling Peter into dropping his sandwich, James declared with gusto, "This year will be our best yet!"

—----------------------------------------------------------------------

As the feast commenced, the Great Hall erupted into a symphony of conversation and laughter. Students and teachers’ voices mingled with the smells of the feast, and the 

smells wafting from the dishes on the tables enchanted the senses. Roast vegetables sizzled on platters, steaming cauldrons bubbled with savory soups and hearty stews, and across the hall, everyone began to tuck in almost simultaneously.

James felt a wave of gratitude wash over him as he surveyed the diverse array of dishes spread across the long tables. Ever since he stumbled upon the entrance to the kitchens halfway through his first year and shared how he’d been surviving exclusively on mashed potatoes and dinner rolls since coming to school, the house elves had made a concerted effort to serve more meatless options. It was a small gesture, but one that James and the other vegetarians at Hogwarts greatly appreciated.

Catching up with the rest of the Gryffindors in their year, getting Lily’s attention, and trying to serve himself dinner without causing a scene proved to be an impossibly difficult task. Despite having mucked it up earlier, James was determined to make conversation with her, and called across the table to where she was sitting with her friends. 

"Evans," James greeted with a cheeky smile.

Lily glanced up from her plate, her friends looking on amused. Everyone was familiar with how this one would go. "What do you want, Potter?" she asked, her tone clipped.

James pressed on. "Just thought I'd say hi," he replied, his voice slightly faltering under her gaze, and he added, "well, again, of course. Good summer?"

Lily rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed by his attempt at conversation. "Fine, thanks," she replied shortly, turning her attention back to her meal.

Undeterred by her dismissal, James distractedly went to serve himself dinner, hoping to get back to his wooing of Lily Evans, but his attention on something other than the task at hand backfired. Sirius' goblet was set just out of his periphery, and was promptly knocked over by James’ elbow, causing water to cascade across the table.

"Merlin's beard, I'm so sorry!" James exclaimed, hastily grabbing a napkin to mop up the spill. "I didn't even see it there!"

Lily let out an exaggerated sigh, her friends giggling wildly behind her.  "Honestly, Potter, can't you go five minutes without causing a scene?" she muttered under her breath, shaking her head in disbelief. "Tergeo!" Lily's voice cut through the commotion, and the water began to siphon itself off the table, drawn into her wand like a magnet. "It's as if you’ve forgotten that you're wizards… while we’re at a bloody magic feast!" She gave the two boys a final look of exasperation, and turned back to Mary and Marlene, who shot James almost identical sympathetic glances before getting to their own meals.

“I guess that’s one way of getting her attention,” Peter teased, and James felt his cheeks grow hot. 

“Shut up, Pettigrew,” he replied, and the other three laughed, and tucked into their meals. 

As the feast drew to a close, stomachs full and hearts content, the students filed out of the Great Hall, headed back to the dormitories. During their trek back to the tower, James couldn't stop replaying the embarrassing moments that had plagued him throughout the day. While he knew they were only accidents, it seemed like accidents might’ve been happening more and more often. Over the summer, he had noticed an increase in such incidents, but his parents attributed it mainly to his growth spurt, which had come on suddenly. 

In James’ opinion Remus seemed to be growing just as quickly, but without the same new clumsiness… something that felt very unfair.

I guess it would be extra unfair if he was a werewolf and super clumsy, James thought to himself as he climbed into his new bed in the fourth-year dormitory. Remus was probably in the Shack at this very moment, throwing himself at a wall or something equally terrible. 

The same way he had been every year, James claimed the bed closest to the bathroom, next to the window, with Sirius’ bed directly across from his and Peter’s to his left. He bid his dorm mates goodnight as he extinguished the lamp and removed his glasses, setting them within reach.

As he drifted off to sleep, James felt the curtains rustle beside him. "Sirius?" he whispered, feeling a presence slip into bed beside him.

"It's me," came Sirius' voice, and James relaxed, making room for him on the mattress.

"Rough summer, mate?" James inquired, feeling Sirius nod against the pillow.

"Spent a lot of time in the cellar," Sirius admitted, his voice thick with embarrassment. "But I guess you could've figured that out from looking at me, huh?"

"What happened to keeping a low profile?" James questioned softly, instinctively wrapping an arm around Sirius in a gesture of comfort.

"I tried, honestly," Sirius confessed, his voice tinged with regret. "But sometimes, things just slip out, or I can't stop myself from doing things I know will get me in trouble."

James hummed, showing he was still listening, while Sirius continued. “Like at Bella’s engagement party, it was like I had this voice in my ear telling me that I had to see what would happen if I tipped over the punchbowl- one moment I was staring at it, and the next there was punch all over the floor and I was being pushed into the cellar again. I don’t even know what happened.”

James just squeezed tighter. “It’s okay now, though. We’re here and they’re there. Let’s just get some sleep.” Sirius nodded, and after a moment, James was snoring. Sirius smiled, and tucked himself closer to James’ body, all elbows and knees, before drifting off himself.