Chapter 7
+1.
Remus sat down at the table, barely containing his yawn as he waved at his friends and started loading up his plate.
"Just where have you been young man?" James asked in a haughty voice, looking very proud of himself if the smile had anything to do with it.
"Library." Remus shovelled a forkful of dinner into his mouth as he spoke.
"Honestly Moony, sometimes it's as if you were raised by wolves." Sirius tutted, trying not to laugh at his own joke.
Remus didn't even bother to look up from his plate as he raised his middle finger at his friend and continued hurriedly eating his food.
"Good one Pads," James exclaimed, excitedly realising he could add to the joke, "Hey Moony."
"What." Remus finally stopped eating for a few seconds to take a sip of the tea that Sirius had been so kind in making.
"Were you hungry? Because you were wolfing that down!"
Remus sighed, shaking his head at his friends with a smile as he finished his plate.
Sirius looked like he was going to say something but before he could his face went pale, his eyes trained on something over Remus' shoulder.
"What's wrong?" Remus tapped Sirius' hand to get his attention.
Sirius jumped as if he had been slapped, "Oh it's nothing I thought I saw something." He waved a hand and began talking about something random, some of the colour returning to his face.
Remus narrowed his eyes, not quite believing his friend, but he said nothing anyway.
Remus began looking around the hall, half listening to the conversations going on around him.
His eyes found a 7th year student circling the hall slowly, staring straight at Sirius' back.
Deciding to keep watching the suspicious looking guy, Remus served himself another helping of dinner as an excuse to stay sat at the table.
"Jesus Moony, have we not been feeding you enough?" Peter laughed, nudging Remus' shoulder with his own.
Remus just grunted, remembering at the last moment to shoot his friend a smile.
He searched the room, looking for his target and found him closer than before.
The guy met Remus' stare and smirked, now walking towards the table at a faster pace.
Rolling his eyes, Remus turned his attention back to his plate, remembering that Sirius was not his and he had no right to be acting that way.
He'd just finished his plate when he heard Sirius hiss in a mix of pain, shock and anger.
"Oh come on, that's just rude." James glared at the newcomer, who was unsurprisingly the guy who'd been smirking at Remus across the room.
"I don't see how, I'm just greeting an old friend. Don't you agree Sirius?" The guy smirked at Remus before smiling down at Sirius.
"Actually, no. I'd like you to leave us alone now please." Sirius had gone pale again, holding the strangers gaze determinedly.
"Oh, well I suppose I must. Goodbye all, it was nice to meet you." The guy's face dropped when the others looked at him, his smirk returning when he noticed Remus watching him walk away.
He didn't walk that far, stopping at the other end of the Gryffindor table where Lily was sat, sending Remus another smug grin.
Remus had to take a few deep breaths before standing up, wanting to leave to avoid any conflict.
He watched Lily stand up, still not noticing the guy standing behind her.
He continued to watch, unable to do anything, as the guy slapped her on the backside.
He sent Remus yet another smirk as the sound echoed around the hall, Lily's shocked exclamation echoing along with it.
She whirled around and angrily began pointing a finger in the guys face. Remus started walking over to the two, ignoring his friends telling him to let Lily deal with it herself.
James having been held back at the table as he shouted for Remus to deck the guy.
Peter turned to Sirius, who was holding James's other arm, "Quick, do something." His eyes were wide with panic as he watched Remus get nearer and nearer to where Lily was giving the guy a piece of her mind.
"What do you want me to do? He's not going to listen to any of us after that!" Sirius' eyes were equally as wide with worry, he tugged James's arm, "Prongs what do we do?"
"I say let him at him." James grinned at his two friends, watching proudly as Remus got within hearing distance of the guy who slapped Lily and joined in on her verbal tirade.
"James! Not helpful-" Peter squeaked.
"It'll be fine, he's only going to yell at him, it's not like he'll get violent in public." James reasoned, relaxing enough that his friends let his arms go.
"I don't think I've ever seen him hit someone to be fair." Sirius hummed in agreement to what Peter just said.
All three sat back and watched as Remus and Lily yelled at the guy in the middle of the great hall, everyone else also watching with interest.
"What the fuck was that?" Remus snarled when he was within earshot.
"What was what?" The guy smirked again, obviously trying to wind him up, it was working.
"What do you mean 'what was what?' You know full well what you just did to me!" Lily yelled at him.
"Oh you mean when I tapped you? I don't see the issue." The guy shrugged, shooting Remus a confused look when he didn't immediately agree.
"You what- Rem tell me he's joking?" Lily turned to Remus, who was now standing just behind her, glaring at the guy.
"Unfortunately it seems several people don't see what's wrong with what they do." He answered, his fists clenched behind his back trying to hide them from his friend.
"Is he clenching his fists?" Peter whispered to his friends incredulously.
"What, no way? Is he actually?" Sirius leaned forward, he and James gasping when they realised Peter was right.
"He's not like that right?" James muttered, confused by their friend's body language.
"Oh he definitely is." A voice murmured to themself a bit further down the table.
"What did you say?" Peter picked up on the voice, the three of them turning their attention away from Remus and Lily to a boy sat a few meters away.
"Oh uh." The boy clearly hadn't expected them to hear him, his eyes widening as he hurriedly looked away.
"No go on, we want to know." James pushed, interested at how someone would know their friend better.
"Uhm I'd rather not." The boy had gone quite pale, as if he was scared of Remus hearing him.
Sirius stared at him for a few seconds before realising why his face looked so familiar, "Wait you're the boy who had to stay a while in the infirmary." He clicked his fingers, pleased with himself for making the connection.
The boy physically flinched, going even paler as he desperately tried to get them to abandon the topic.
"Wait," James's eyebrows raised as he pieced together the puzzle in front of them, "Remus did that to you?" He whispered in disbelief.
Unable to speak the boy nodded in defeat and got up quickly, running out of the hall.
Sirius, James and Peter shared a shocked look, not expecting their quiet friend to have caused someone to have stayed in the infirmary for about a week.
Sirius opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when a sickening thud and shocked gasps echoed throughout the hall.
They whirled around to see Remus standing in front of Lily, checking her hand, the guy staggering backwards with a hand on his cheek.
"Is that all you got?" He taunted, still smirking at Remus' back.
Remus froze his fussing over Lily's hand, he quickly glanced over her head to where his friends were sat.
He straightened up and stood aside so Lily could speak directly to the guy she'd slapped.
"No, but I don't want to touch you again, so I found a solution." She lifted her chin, a smug grin aimed right at the guy.
"What's that then, you wimp?" He jeered, walking closer at her admission.
"Him." She nodded at Remus and crossed her arms.
Remus glowered at the smirking guy before reaching out and shoving him, hard.
"What? Am I being unfair? Oh don't be a wimp, fight back." Remus grinned, beckoning for him to return the favour.
The guy lashed out and struck him just above the eye, his arm rushed back to his body, a glint of metal catching the light in his hand as a small trail of blood started making it's way down Remus' face.
"Fair play, my turn now." Remus' grin turned downright violent as he swung his fist out, connecting with the guys jaw causing his teeth to clack together.
Giving no time for recovery he started kicking and punching the guy in whatever way he pleased, beating him till he lay on the floor.
Remus staddled his chest and began pummelling his face, revelling in the blood that began spraying out of the guy's nose, decorating his knuckles and shirt.
"Hey hey hey, stop Remus! That's enough!" Two pairs of hand grabbed his arms and hauled his away from the guy, who lay unconscious on the floor.
Remus blinked down at his friends, wondering why they'd stopped him, he was only just starting too.
He glanced over to Lily, asking her with his face if he'd done enough.
She nodded and sent him a smile, telling him well done as she kicked the guy's outstretched arm before walking over and joining their friends, who were dragging Remus out of the hall.
"Moony.. what was that?" James's quiet voice carried across their dorm.
He was sat on his bed with Sirius, Peter and Marlene, watching as Lily and Regulus walked through the door and jumped onto Remus' bed.
Remus was stood just inside their bathroom, cleaning his hands off from the bloodshed he'd caused.
"He deserved it." Was the only answer he got as Remus finished with his hands and began inspecting the cut on his face.
"Hey Marls, mind having a look at this for me?" Remus poked his head out of the bathroom to ask, watching his roommates exchange confused glances.
"Sure" Marlene stood up and made her way into the bathroom, poking around in the first aid kit Remus had produced from under his bed when he'd begun sorting out his hands.
"Why Marls?" Remus snorted when he heard Sirius whisper to James, something he couldn't place in his tone.
"Because she wants to be a healer, Pads."
"Lean down a bit." She huffed in annoyance when he didn't immediately follow her order "Hello? Can you hear me from up there?"
"But I don't want to lean down." Remus complained, knowing the annoyance it'd cause and trying to hide his smile.
"Well then how am I supposed to have a look at your face for you?" Marlene snapped, getting close to grabbing his shirt and dragging him down to a workable level.
Instead of answering, Remus just placed his hands on her hips and lifted her onto the counter, taking his hands away quickly to not make her uncomfortable.
"A warning would have been nice." Marlene grumbled, hitting his shoulder before starting on his cut.
"It's not actually too bad, wasn't done by a sharp nail though- definitely a weapon of some sort." She concluded, hopping off the counter after cleaning the cut out and muttering a few spells at it.
"Thanks Marls." Remus smiled at her before flopping onto his bed, and therefore onto his two friends.
They yelped and began attacking him with his own pillows.
"Avenge me!" He also yelped, reaching to his friends on James's bed before pretending to die.
Sirius laughed and ran over with a pillow, attacking his brother.
The others joined in a few seconds later and soon the room was filled with laughter.